


Rise of Prodigies

by Dock872210, NamelessEngine



Category: Mahou Sensei Negima!, Ranma 1/2
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, Familiars, Female Saotome Ranma, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic, Meeting the Parents, Mental Health Issues, Negima!-centric, Ranma becomes a Demon Lord, Ranma-chan!fic, Romance, Ukyo learns the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū (Rurouni Kenshin), Unsympathetic interpretation of Ranma 1/2 canon, references to masturbation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 193,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dock872210/pseuds/Dock872210, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelessEngine/pseuds/NamelessEngine
Summary: Negi Springfield and Saotome Ranma. Two geniuses forged in tragedy. Thrown together by fate in Mahora Academy and placed on the cusp of legend, how will these two young souls surpass the weights of their past to create a future of their own making?
Relationships: Hasegawa Chisame/Negi Springfield, Saotome Ranma/Evangeline A.K. McDowell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 18
Collections: Outsiderverse





	1. Origins: Ranma I - Jusenkyo

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posting this over here from FFN due to the latest round of technical difficulties over there at the time of writing this note (GMT+08 0900, 11 Nov 2020). Even if it appears to have been resolved, this is the push that got us to begin the migration.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter One: Origins: Ranma I - Jusenkyo**

**Beta:**

* * *

The Jusenkyo valley was a legendary training ground of "cursed" springs, located in the Bayankala Mountain range, south of Mount Kensei, in Qinghai Province, China. Many sad stories had supposedly happened in Jusenkyo. Many were the tales of people and animals drowning in the various pools hundreds or thousands of years ago. Legend has it that when something died in one of these pools, the pool becomes cursed, and anyone falling into that pool thereafter will become whatever first drowned there.

None of that mattered to the 10 years old Ranma Saotome and his father, Genma, beyond it being a legendary training ground.

As such, they had tuned out the repeated warnings from their guide about cursed springs and magic as so much nonsense. Honestly for someone dressed in a Mao suit and sporting a cap emblazoned with the communist star, the bald man was strangely superstitious.

If Ranma had been more inclined, he might have wondered why but as it was he was too hyped up about trying out the training grounds to care.

After all, he was going to be the best martial artist _ever_!

All that superstitious nonsense? Seriously, how lame! Even if it was true, he'd just beat the curse like he'd overcome every other challenge that his Pops had given him on this training trip so far.

That's why even as the guide continued to warn them of the dangers in his broken Japanese, Ranma followed his Pops' lead and jumped up onto one of the many bamboo poles sticking out of the various pools that dotted the valley.

"Please sirs, you listen? Pools very cursed! You fall mean very bad for you!" The guide pleaded, much to Ranma's distraction though he reasoned ignoring it was part of the training.

Ranma turned to the man, to shout at him to shut up, but his father took the opening this presented to strike.

"You're distracted!" The deceptively chubby man shouted as he lashed out with a high kick.

Ranma gracefully leapt out of the way of the attack and landed safely on another of the poles. His toes tightening around the top of it as he shifted his body weight to stay balanced.

"By the way, Pops, what's so special about this place anyways? Fighting on poles like this ain't anything new." Ranma pointed out as he leapt into the air to avoid a shoulder rush from his father.

Timing his airtime just right, he came level with his father just as he got his footing on Ranma's previous foothold. Smirking, the boy used his distracted father's back as a convenient springboard to jump away.

This both allowed him to avoid his father's clumsy reactionary defensive swipe while also knocking the man off balance and send him tumbling into one of the springs below.

Or it would have if Genma hadn't hooked his legs around the bamboo pole and spun himself around with more agility than a expert gymnast and threw himself at Ranma.

The boy did his best to twist out of the way, shifting his body weight in a desperate bid to alter the course of his fall but it was futile and Genma managed to return the favour from earlier and use him as a springboard to safety on top of another bamboo pole while sending his son hurtling into one of the pools.

As Ranma struck the water, he felt a strange tingle rush over his skin but brushed it off in favour of continuing the fight. Pushing his head out the water, red locks covered his eyes. Maybe it was a weird pool plant?

"Oh no! Poor young master, you fall into Pool of Drowned Little Girl." The guide declared mournfully. His hands on his cheeks as he gaped in horror.

Ranma scoffed at this and resumed his battle with his father.

"Little Girl!?" Pops shouted, sounding furious. "I thought you said that was the Pool of Drowned Man?"

_Pops buys into this garbage? Really?_

"That's over there," the guide said pointing to a spring just behind the one Ranma was treading water in.

"Shit, I missed," Pops cursed. "No matter! I'll just dunk Ranma in that one too!"

"Honoured tourist, that be bad i-"

The guide never got the chance to finish his sentence because Ranma had finally made it to firm footing on the pool's edge and immediately used it as a launching pad to leap at his distracted father.

"Wake up, ya old geezer!" Ranma shouted as he kicked his father hard in the chest. Pops was so distracted that he didn't even put up a guard and took the full force of the blow head on which sent him flying into a pool just behind the one he'd been standing over.

"That's what you get for being distracted." Ranma declared triumphantly as he looked down at the cluster of air bubbles on the surface of the pool his father had fallen into.

"Ah, another victim! Honored tourist has fallen in Pool of Drowned Panda!"

"Okay, now you gotta be joking me!" Ranma snapped at the annoying man for his side commentary.

"No joke. All true, young master. Just look." The guide insisted, pointing back at the pool where his father had just floated back to the surface unconscious. Except instead of the a stocky, middle aged man what floated up was undeniably a panda.

"What the hell!?"

* * *

A couple hours later found the father-son duo in the meeting hut of a village of Chinese amazons, as the guide had introduced them, adjacent to the cursed valley of Jusenkyo. If you'd asked Ranma just hours ago if he'd believed the guide when he called these strange warrior women amazons, Ranma would have laughed in your face. But after their experiences in Jusenkyo…

He was going to take the guide at his word.

Especially since he'd been nice enough to bring them there, carrying the unconscious panda that his Pops had become, in the hopes of them getting looked after.

"Stupid old panda jerk." Ranma grumbled as the village elders finished their examination of him and his father and stepped back.

Everyone of the elders looked like shriveled up dwarfs but Ranma could clearly see from every move they made, with their economy of movement, that they were expert martial artists.

A particularly old looking ghoul of a woman shuffled before both Ranma and his father, her beady eyes going from one to the other before sighing.

"My name, young one, is Kě Lún." The old ghoul said, sounding like she needed a truckload of lozenges but in perfect Japanese. "I trust you've realized by now the nature of the springs you have fallen into and the curse that it has left on you and your father."

"Yeah," Ranma said piteously. "I've been cursed to be a girl forever."

"Not quite," the Elder said before unceremoniously throwing a cup of warm tea in the redhead's face.

Ranma was too stunned about the whole thing to even consider dodging and the warm water hit him square in the face.

He was about to fly into a rage at the uncalled for action when a lock of his hair that had been dislodged by the tea fell into his view and he noted how it had become his natural raven black again. The young boy gasped in shock at this.

"The curse works such that when stuck by warm water you will be reverted to your base form while exposure to all other water will transform you into your cursed form."

"I-I don't understand? What do you mean?" Ranma's head spun, trying to process what just happened.

In lieu of explaining further, the old woman just tossed another cup of tea at Ranma. As it splashed on his face, Ranma noted that it was lukewarm. Catching on to the old ghoul's intentions, he hastily pulled down his hair to discover that it had turned red again.

"So avoid water if it isn't warm? Got it." Ranma muttered to herself.

"You can try, young one," Kě Lún said with a patronising smile. "But the curse will not be easily thwarted. You shall find that you've become quite the water magnet."

"Then you don't know me lady. I'm Ranma Saotome! I'm the best. If I say I'll avoid water then I will."

The Elder smothered a laugh and just nodded.

"Is that so? Well, I suppose it will be amusing to see you try." The old woman said, making Ranma bristle. "But enough of that for now. There is more to explain."

"What is it?"

"You see you've been cursed by one of the more problematic curses."

"In what way?"

"You have the Curse of the Drowned Little Girl which means you'll be cursed to forever transform into a _little_ girl."

"I don't see the problem," Ranma said, blinking in confusion.

Kě Lún sighed and muttered something probably exasperated in Mandarin before continuing. "It means, young one, that your cursed form will _never_ age pass that of the original girl who fell into the cursed spring, which by our estimate is ten years old."

"Wait, what! I don't want to be a little girl forever! I need to be the manliest man!" Ranma shouted hysterically. Being the manliest man he could be and the greatest martial artist ever had been the ideals that his father had pounded into his head the whole time he was on this training trip, which was as far back as Ranma could remember! This, this... Curse would ruin that!

Contrary to his expectations, Kě Lún didn't look sympathetic. Instead, she just looked confused.

"Manliest man? What are you talking about? You're a girl."

Ranma blinked, "Huh? Come on? What the heck are ya talking about, you old hag? I'm a guy!"

The Elder frowned, even as a look of epiphany began to shine in her eyes.

"I see," the old ghoul hissed under her breath menacingly. "So that's what that _man_ was trying to do."

The way the amazon said the word "man" sent a shiver down Ranma's spine and she was honestly worried for her father's safety.

"What do you mean?"

"That's not important now," Kě Lún insisted. "Instead, why don't I prove to you that you've always been a girl. Look inside your pants and see if your genitals have changed."

"What!? You can't seriously-"

"Do it!" Kě Lún insisted, her frame enshrouded with a fear inducing aura.

Gulping nervously, Ranma compiled and pulled her pants and briefs out to take a look.

"Huh? You're right, nothing's changed." The young martial artist admitted.

"Then-"

"But Pops said this was a boy's bits. So this proves nothing." Ranma insisted. "Maybe you people are wrong and I fell into the Pool of Drowned Boy?"

Kě Lún sighed at this and shook her head sadly, before an idea seemed to occur to her. She quickly gestured to one of the other elders and whispered something to her in Mandarin, before sending the presumably junior elder running out of the meeting hall.

She returned a little later with a buxom young woman and a meek looking young man.

"Now child, tell me do you recognize these two as a man and a woman?" Kě Lún asked Ranma while gesturing at the two.

"Yeah," Ranma said nervously, not liking where things might be going.

"Good, then let me show you the real difference between a man and a woman." With that Kě Lún spun around and barked an order to the two new arrivals.

They both blushed, but promptly began stripping their clothes off.

Ranma found himself blushing, "Um, can we not do that?"

"No, we must so you can face the truth, young one."

Ranma looked between the two nude people before him and felt his heart leap into his throat.

The man's bits was nothing like his. Instead of the slit in between his legs, this man had something hanging there and a pair of balls on either side of the hanging thing. And the woman... She had the breasts that Ranma knew all women eventually grew, but, but, in between her legs… She had the same slit that Ranma had!

Shakily, her finger pointed to the woman. He, her? Ranma was confused, his, no, her whole world has, had changed.

Her Pops had always said that girls were weak, but Ranma was a girl and she wasn't weak. Did that mean she was? No, it couldn't be! She beat her Pops eight times out of ten when they sparred nowadays. That meant she was stronger than him, right? And he was a man, right? He didn't have breasts so he had to be, right? But then…

"Argh!" Ranma cried out in anguish as her whole world collapsed around her and she crumpled to the floor. Hot tears ran down her face as her head spun in absolute confusion.

* * *

A couple hours later, found a still shellshocked Ranma standing in the village square as the Joketsuzoku, as he - _She_ , Ranma reminded herself while fighting back tears- had learned the amazons called themselves, gathered to take part in their annual martial arts tournament.

After Ranma had calmed down from his - _No, it's her damnit!_ \- initial freak out, Kě Lún had tried rather insistently to entice her to stay and join her tribe.

Ranma refused, he - _She!_ \- just wanted to fight not become a warrior woman living in the Chinese backcountry. Just be Ranma Saotome. At least that couldn't be taken away, right?

He - _No, accept it already_!- wasn't ungrateful to the amazons though. Not when they had not only helped her - _How could this have happened?_ \- understand her curse but also revealed to her the lie that her Pops had told her. It had hurt, but it had been necessary. At least Ranma hoped it would be.

So she'd decided to join the tournament that the village was holding. She had nothing to pay them back with after all, but if he - _No, no! She! I'm a she!_ \- won the tournament she could pay them back by gifting the prize back to the village.

That and she really wanted a good fight right now. One of those always did manage to help her clear her head and that was something she desperately needed right now.

Not that it was helping as much as she had hoped. He'd - _Ugh, why was this so hard?_ \- jumped up on the wide log that served as the stage for the tournament hoping to find opponents in this village of warrior women who could challenge her and make her get so involved in thinking up ways to win that she'd forget her troubles for a moment. But… They were all so very weak. So much so that Ranma had to barely put any effort into knocking them off the log and defeating them via ring out.

Or at least that had been the case until now.

Her current and final opponent was Shān Pú, who was apparently the old ghoul Kě Lún's great-granddaughter and widely regarded as the village's strongest young warrior. Dressed in a light colored long-sleeved blouse and pants with the addition of a dark breastplate and a pair of metal arm-guards, she certainly looked the part.

Though a number of Ranma's previous opponents had as well. What truly set her apart from the nobodies she smacked down earlier was that she actually had the _skill_ to back up her looks.

The moment the match had started, the purple haired girl had dashed in close and engaged Ranma in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. It was so fast that the redhead, yes Ranma hadn't gotten around to changing himself - _Herself!_ \- back to normal yet, had little time to think of anything else besides where to block, parry or otherwise defend herself while trying to strike at her opponent when the opportunities presented themselves. Those were few and far between though as despite her furious assault, the amazon managed to maintain a formidable guard.

 _This isn't working._ Ranma realized as the exchange dragged on. _I need to change tactics._

Using the acrobatic skill honed by years of harsh training by her father, Ranma leapt back to create distance from her opponent who predictably smelt victory in the water and moved to close once more but was surprised when the redhead proceeded to somersault over her instead.

In mid-air, Ranma lashed out with a kick at the purple haired girl's head which caught her flat footed. Her blow thus struck true, sending Shān Pú into a dizzy stagger as Ranman landed on all fours behind her. Without giving the amazon a chance to recover, the redhead lashed out with another kick that swept Shān Pú's legs right out from under her and sent her flying off the log.

"Argh! You good!" The amazon said in broken Japanese as she surfaced from the relatively shallow pool of water under the log.

"Uh, thanks." Ranma replied with a smile. "You were pretty good too."

"You deserve prize. But also the Kiss of Death." The purple haired girl said as she leapt out of the water and lunged towards Ranma.

"Eh?"

Ranma was stunned as her face was grabbed by Shān Pú who had her- _Nonononono_ \- lips puckered and aiming for Ranma's own.

Only the kiss never happened as a bandana wearing Panda suddenly bull rushed onto the field.

Alarmed by the new arrival, Ranma jerked away just as Shān Pú's lips were about to meet her own. The attempted kiss however had proven distracting enough that the Panda that must have been her father managed to shoulder chuck her and send her flying into the pool below the log.

Ranma was so surprised by the sudden attack that he- _Gah! Stop this! It's making my head hurt?!_ \- didn't manage to fully brace herself for the fall. As a result, she crashed into the water and the poolbed hard. Hard enough to knock her unconscious.

* * *

As Genma Saotome woke up in a out of the way hut in the amazon village and staggered to his feet, the Panda's mind was consumed by thoughts of his failure.

He couldn't believe everything that had happened.

All his planning, all his scheming and that blasted contract he made with his wife had all gone down the drain!

 _All because the damned cursed pools weren't properly labelled!_ He whined to himself as he made it to the center of whatever boondocks village that he had found himself in where his pissant daughter was apparently sparring with one of the locals.

Seeing the fight, Genma was suddenly hit by inspiration.

_That's it! I can still salvage this! If I dunk the brat into the Pool of Drowned Man then this could still work!_

Yes! That's it! He would capture that ungrateful waste of space that was his useless daughter and then drag her back to the cursed springs and dunk her into the _right_ pool!

That had to work right? That hack of a tour guide didn't know what he was talking about. Especially when he had asked to be by the Pool of the Drowned MAN!

Without putting much more thought to his actions, he was never much of a thinker anyways, he leapt forward onto the attack.

His stupid daughter located, he ran with his new panda legs like a mad bull. Pushing aside the crowd of surprised locals who had been too busy spectating the pathetic match, Genma barreled through them to the pool's edge before leaping up at the log on which his idiot daughter was about to let her opponent kiss her.

 _So she's a lesbian now? Ugh, like she can't become more of a degenerate!_ Genma spat in his mind as he slammed his shoulder into Ranma and sent her flying into the pool below.

The useless girl hadn't even been able to manage to adjust her fall properly and got herself knocked out by the impact with some rocks. How pathetic!

Then again so was the little purple haired girl child that was trying to attack him. Snorting derisively at how insignificant she was, he swatted her aside in a single blow that sent her flying into the still shocked crowd below.

Unlike the slow fools, Genma was already moving and leapt into the water. Without facing any resistance, he scooped his insensate daughter out of the water and took off running towards the Jusenkyo springs.

No one would stop his plan! It was fool proof! Sure he thought it up in ten minutes, but it was all he had left!

The idiot women of this village tried, but the were weak! Honestly, where were their menfolk? Were they so spineless that they let their pathetic women do the fighting for them?

He dismissed the thought as not worth considering though as he batted yet another wouldbe warrior woman into a nearby forest where her body splintered a good dozen trees before finally coming to a stop after impacting the mountain side.

The idiot women were at least smart enough to stop chasing him once he made it into the springs proper but much to Genma's frustration, once there he was confronted by another bunch of buffoons standing in his way. This time they were a bunch of cosplayers dressed up like it was still the Tang Dynasty and carrying a bunch of animals that they were dunking into a particular pool.

The animals were all coming out as confused looking women, so Genma easily figured the spring in question must be the Pool of Drowned Confused Women or some such.

The women were all being splashed with water from some pail the cosplayers were treating with some reverence. It must have some religious purpose or perhaps it was magic. Whatever, Genma didn't care.

Though the cosplayers certainly did. The moment they spotted him, they shouted at him angrily in Mandarin and moved to intercept him

Genma didn't care though, as if some freaks in robes were going to stop him escaping the fate of his hot yet crazy wife gutting him!

Despite his bravado though, Genma was no fool and recognized that these cosplayers were strong. He couldn't fight them while holding onto his deadweight daughter. So tossing her aside, he engaged the freaks.

What followed was an insane and thrilling blur to Genma as ki blasts and various high level martial arts techniques flew in every direction, especially when the wannabe warrior women decided they wanted a piece of the action too.

As if one group of cosplayers weren't enough, the fight was interrupted _again_ by a bunch of LARPers dressed up like Western mages! Or that's what he thought until they actually started shooting spells around.

 _Oh shit! They are_ actual _mages! Shit! Fuck! Shit!_

Genma knew the consequences he would likely face if he got caught by the mages, it wouldn't be pretty, and so he did what he always did when faced with a problem he couldn't solve: he ran!

"Anything Goes Ougi! Run Away!" Genma shouted, or tried to. He was still a panda after all so all that came out were a series of unintelligible grunts, even as he fled with all his power.

 _Can't forget the girl._ The panda thought as he sprinted towards where he had discarded his useless offspring. _Jusenkyo might be a bust but there are other places I can go to fix this!_

He just needed to research how to fix this whole issue.

Genma found the girl next to one of the cosplayers who had been hiding form the insane melee that the fight had become. Said cosplayer was holding onto the pail that he and his friends seemed to find so important, and cowered away from Genma as he neared.

The panda just ignored him and pushed him aside, causing the water in the pail to spill onto Ranma where she lay still unconscious on the ground.

Genma cursed, he hoped that pail and its water wasn't magical 'cause if it was then fixing this mess would likely be even more difficult and the martial artist hated when things got difficult!

Setting that concern aside for later, he picked up the girl like a sack of potatoes and began running out of the valley.

He didn't make it more than ten feet when a spell hit him in the back and he collapsed to the ground, tossing Ranma to the ground some distance away from him in the process. Genma's vision was darkening from whatever stunning effect the spell must have had but as he fought it, he saw the mages and the warrior women suddenly surrounding him and the girl.

They were looking at him with hateful eyes, which was nothing new. He got that reaction from a lot of idiots who didn't appreciate how great he was. But gallingly, they were swarming around his worthless daughter with concerned looks.

 _Why bother worrying about the failure?_ Genma thought to himself as he lost his fight with the spell and fell unconscious.

* * *

Ranma regained consciousness with a sense of confusion. That her head felt like it was being hacked apart by a splitting headache did not help matters. Neither did the familiar way her body felt like lead from exhaustion.

 _What happened?_ The girl asked as she struggled into a sitting position and held her aching head. As she did, she noticed she appeared to be back in the Joketsuzoku village if the architecture of the building she had found herself in was anything to go by.

Rapid whispers tickled her ears as she turned to see a set of silhouettes through a thin paper screen door talking around what looked like a cooking fire.

"-mother is a no go. From what we found out, she's just as nuts as the father." An unfamiliar voice said in Mandarin. A language that unlike her Pops she had actually took the time to learn before coming to China.

_They were considering sending her to her mother?_

Ranma had no recollection of her mother beyond snippets of a beautiful redhead but if she was anything like her father, as the stranger implied she was, then she shuddered at the mere thought of meeting her.

"And I ask again why you can't just leave her here with us?" The familiar voice of Elder Kě Lún said, sounding frustrated.

"Like hell we're leaving a ten year to be corrupted by your man hating ways, old hag." Another unfamiliar voice said, presumably the other stranger.

"Hmph! Corrupted, how rude of you wand wavers."

"Can it, you little hobgoblin. While you may not have proper procedures, _we_ do. The girl is going back to whatever family that we're sure will take good care of her. We've found some cousins that look like a good fit."

Ranma blinked in confusion. Taken care of? He - _She!_ \- was taken care of though, right?

_Wait…._

"I have cousins?" Ranma gasped, shocked at the idea that she - _Good! Keep it up!_ \- had more family than just her parents. All her life, the only family she'd known was her father and some very dim memories of her mother. The prospect of more family suddenly both excited and terrified her.

 _What if they're like Pops?_ Ranma thought worriedly. _The strangers, whoever they are, seem to think they're good people though so maybe they're okay?_

"Ssh! Did you hear that?" The voice of the first stranger said suddenly.

"Yes, the girl's been awake for some time. Didn't you two _great_ mages not notice?" Elder Kě Lún said snidely.

"Impossible," the second stranger gasped. "We put her under a sleeping spell that should have kept her knocked out for a full day. She's only been under for a few hours."

"Her magical potential must be pretty damned impressive then," the first stranger said as he pushed the screen door open, revealing himself to be a young Chinese man dressed, rather incongruous considering how far they were in the wilderness, in a suit.

 _Magical potential, me?_ Ranma thought incredulously.

"But budding mage or not, you've gotta sleep right now kid." The Chinese man said kindly. "You'll need it to heal."

Ranma opened his - _Her damnit!_ \- mouth to complain that she wasn't a kid and didn't need a nap when the man muttered an unintelligible word and she was suddenly hit by a bolt of light that immediately sent her back to dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done, thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> Wow, just wow. A story that's not Naruto or HP related in a crossover. This a new and bold direction for me! XP Still, this little brain baby has been in the works since summer and exploded into something awesome. Hope you guys will enjoy it!
> 
> Nameless: So this our latest fic. The one which we spent the better part of a month to plan out and is probably the most well planned fic we've ever plotted out, so I'm very much looking forward to writing it. I hope that you all will enjoy it as much.
> 
> And yes, Ranma is a girl girl, not a boy girl cursed. It's very nice!
> 
> Nameless: So yeah, this is a fem!Ranma fic. You should know our penchant for genderbender fics, though I guess that's only half the case here huh? Also, as it says in the information about this fic this is a crossover with Negima. What do we have in mind? Well, you'll have to wait and see though you'll likely need to read the whole Origins arc to see what we intend. That said, it shouldn't be too hard to guess though we do intend to include some surprises eventually.
> 
> Oh, before I hand things over to E4E to finish signing off. I've got a current fic I'm publishing: Why Cute Witches Should Deal With Outsiders (And Their Lairs). It's a radical AU of Witch's House that's got plenty of other IPs making cameos so if that's your thing please do drop by to take a look. Now with that shameless plug outta the way, E4E take it away!
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	2. Origins: Negi I - Wales of a Beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Two: Origins: Negi I - Wales of a Beginning**

**Beta:**

* * *

A six year old Negi Springfield, son of the legendary mage Nagi Springfield the Thousand Master, woke up in the infirmary of the small town that he called home.

He looked eagerly to his bedside, hoping against hope that his father had come to rescue him and was waiting to see if he was okay. Thus when all he saw was his cousin/older sister who served as his guardian Nekane, dozing lightly in a chair, he felt only disappointment.

A cold pit settled in his tiny tummy as he felt tears prickle the corners of his eyes. Of course not, something this small -nearly drowning of all things- wouldn't bring his Father to save him. He was probably off doing more important things like saving a princess or fighting an evil dragon, that's how amazing Negi's father was.

His tiny fists tightened around the sheet that covered his lower body. Right now all he wanted was to hide from the world and cry, but if his best friend Anya saw him, she'd probably laugh at how much of a cry baby he was acting.

_Don't cry, I-I have to be tough like Father. H-He'll come back. He has to someday… Right?_

It was futile though and big fat tears began falling from his eyes onto the sheet in a steady rain, a product of the doubt that was gnawing at his resolve.

_But I've tried so many times!_ Negi wanted to scream, though it came out as a weak sob. _And it's always failed. Always. I'm just a big fat failure!_

"Hey, Nekane, you in there?" A voice that Negi recognized as their neighbor Mr George called out from outside the infirmary suddenly, startling him back into hiding under the sheet and pretending to be asleep. He didn't want anyone to know he'd been crying. Again.

"Huh?" Nekane said sleepily as she jerked awake, whether by Mr George calling out to her or Negi's actions he didn't know.

"Oh! You _are_ there!" Mr George said happily as he walked in, accompanied by Old Man Stein.

"George, please," Nekane hissed in a whisper. "Negi's resting."

"Oh! Sorry." The man apologized and whispered, "I got a little too excited about the project. We're so close! I'm sure that with just a little more refinement we'll be able to create a staff that can seal away that accursed Mage at long last."

"Geo-" Nekane said, sounding annoyed but was cut off by Old Man Stein.

"Shut up! The boy's awake."

Negi went stock still at the accusation in Old Man Stein's tone. Nervously, Negi removed the sheet from his head and mumbled out a sheepish greeting, "'Ello."

"Negi, it's rude to eavesdrop." Nekane frowned at him, making the boy wilt inside and duck back under the covers.

"I'm sorry…"

He heard Nekane sigh before she sat down on the left side of the bed and pulled the sheet off of him. She smiled down at him with a sad, strained smile and it twisted Negi inside to see it on his cousin's face.

"Negi, please stop these antics. I worry about you enough already, but seeing you hurt breaks my heart, little one." She said in that kind and loving tone she always took with him, while brushing her fingers through his hair.

If Negi had felt guilty before, he felt far worse now as his eyes grew misty.

"I'm sorry."

Nekane pulled him into a hug and he guiltily melted into her embrace. He liked Nekane's hugs, they made him feel safe.

"You're going too easy on him, girl." Old Man Stein said in a stern voice that had Negi quailing back in fear of the intimidating old mage.

"Leave him alone, Mr Stein, he's just a boy." Nekane shot back as she stood up to shield Negi from the man.

The two soon descended into a furious argument about how to properly raise Negi and whether or not he needed harsher consequences for his misbehavior. It was an old one though, and Negi just watched them in amusement as the two retrode old ground once more. Mr George was far less used to it though and seem panicked, which just amused Negi more.

All in all, even if Father hadn't shown up, getting to see this fight was worth almost drowning. At least it was in Negi's admittedly warped and childish opinion.

Unbeknownst to all in the room, as the humans argued, a small golden butterfly was perched on the ceiling and peering down at them with curiosity.

* * *

A couple of days later, Negi was sneaking out of the village to enact his latest plan to get his Father's attention. This time he was thinking that he would hunt down a pack of wild dogs, some had supposedly been reported in the area, and incite them into chasing them.

_Surely that'll put me in enough danger to get Father to come and rescue me._ The six year old hoped fervently as he snuck around the corner of the last house before he was officially out of the village.

Coincidentally, or perhaps by design, this was the exact same time when the village was hit by an earthquake.

Panicking as the ground shook violently, Negi abandoned his plan with the wild dogs and began running for shelter. He tried the nearest house, one that belonged to Mr and Mrs Hughes, but no one was home and he was forced to run further towards the centre of town. He was just running into the town square when the centre of it erupted in an explosion of sand, dirt, and concrete as a massive monster burst out of the ground.

It looked vaguely like a caterpillar but was covered in scales that overlapped and interlocked to form what could pass for armor. It let out a terrifying shriek that revealed a mouth that split apart into three segments that had rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth.

At the sight, Negi could only freeze in terror.

"Negi! Come here!" One of his neighbors, Mrs. Dafis, shouted at him, pulling him out of his shock enough to turn towards her. He was still too scared to move though and just stood there helplessly staring at her.

When he did nothing, her husband, Mr. Dafis, ran out pass her and grabbed him like a sack of potatoes. Running with him under one arm, the man rushed back into the safety of his house.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dafis, what is that thing?" Negi asked as the man put him down and his wife slammed the door closed.

"I don't know," Mrs. Dafis said nervously. "Maybe some monster sent by the Megalomesembrian Senate?"

"Don't be daft, woman." Mr. Dafis shot back as he walked over to a window to observe the battle. "All of us in the village are royalists loyal to the Vespertatian royal family. Attacking us would make us martyrs and possibly unleash a bloody war back on Mundus Magicus that the Senate can ill afford."

Going over to join Mr. Dafis in peeking out on the fight against the monster, Negi tuned out the talk of politics between the couple. Instead, he was captivated by the epic fight.

Dazzling lights in red, blue, purple, yellow and an assortment of other colors bombarded the massive creature. Yet each attack merely fizzled out upon contact with the monster, hardly leaving a mark on its thick armor.

Most alarmingly, at least to Negi, was how the monster was also firing off spells of various types. Fire, lightning, ice, shadows, and every element in between were thrown back at the town's defenders.

It would have been cool in the young child's mind if he wasn't so scared out of his skin.

He watched friend and neighbor disappear in the blasts of magic the beast unleashed. Dread swept through him as hot tears stained his cheeks as slowly but surely the monster overwhelmed his home village.

"Out of the way, ya fools!" The Old Man Stein shouted as he dashed forward, a magical staff in hand that he slammed it into the ground the moment he managed to get in front of the monster.

Negi couldn't pick up the chant of the spell Old Man Stein used, but it must have been powerful because it caused the earth to rip open like a vicious maw with sharp looking earthen teeth that snapped down into the beast's center mass, refusing to let go.

The monstrous bug released a blast of magic at its earthen prison but Old Man Stein kept his staff planted into the ground and continued to pump magic into his spell, causing more and more rocky teeth to shoot out of the earthen maw to further trap the abomination.

The caterpillar monster shrieked in frustration before it unleashed a massive wave of brilliant white fire that melted the entire earthen maw and transformed the whole square into a field of glass. Dozens of Negi's neighbors died screaming, reduced to ashes by the deadly flames.

The son of the Thousand Master gasped in horror at the sight, and hastily searched for Old Man Stein. He breathed a sigh of relief as the elder mage had managed to call up a bulwark of earthworks to protect himself and a couple of his other neighbors.

"You got us good there, you damned bug!" Old Man Stein spat. "But don't think we're done yet."

With that defiant declaration, he slammed his staff into the earth and sent the stone barrier he'd created to weather the monster's fire wave flying at it in the form of a stone blast.

The monster intercepted the projectiles with bullets of dark magic that reduced them into dust. This however served to create an opening that the other neighbors used to press their own attacks. They served to further occupy the monster as it proceeded to throw spells at them, in a bid to destroy them, giving Stein the time he needed to prepare his next spell.

With another slam of his staff into the ground, Old Man Stein transformed the entire square into a gigantic sand pit with tendrils of the grains shooting out to grab hold of the hulking beast and pull it into a growing whirlpool. The monster struggled, but it was futile. It had become an ant in the antlion trap that was Old Man Stein's spell.

The sound of churning earth filled the air as the caterpillar screeched and thrashed even as it was buried and crushed by the weight of the village's soil.

Watching the whole dramatic fight, Negi could only think one thing.

"I want to have been able to save those people." Negi said with tears in his eyes as he recalled all his neighbors that he had just seen die.

Outside Mr. Stein walked around checking on the survivors, and Negi zeroed in on the old man with some awe.

"I want to be able to save people too like Mr. Stein." He said admiringly at the elderly mage's heroics, wiping away his tears. Heroes didn't cry after all.

So captivated by the scene, none saw the glowing purple butterfly by the windowsill.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> And so, the protag origin begins… and its short, but aren't they always?
> 
> Nameless: Yup. With this, we've finished starting the protag origins for both of our MCs.
> 
> So we're going a slightly different route with some things, but know that we aren't just going nutso from the start. It's going to be an interesting ride so stay sharp and look for clues!
> 
> Nameless: Indeed! Look forward to connecting all the dots.
> 
> One last thing, TheAncientOne pointed out a discrepancy with our version of the Kiss of Death versus canon in the first chapter. This is honestly a misstep on our part, but after some thought one that doesn't actually need a change. After all, the two scenes where the Kiss is described are from the POV of Ranma and Genma respectively. Neither of them would know the details of the Kiss. All they'd see is Shampoo leaning in to kiss Ranma and make assumptions from there. Essentially it's a case of an unreliable narrator.
> 
> With that addessed, E4E please sign us off!
> 
> E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	3. Origins: Ranma II - What's a Family?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Three: Origins: Ranma II - What's a Family?**

**Beta:**

* * *

Ranma trailed behind Mr. Mage, the suit wearing Chinese mage from Jusenkyo who was apparently too lazy to give her his proper name, as they walked the short distance from where the cab they had taken from the airport had dropped them off and up the cobblestoned path through a small garden to the porch of a decently sized house. The house wasn't anything special, nothing about it stood out as being different from the hundreds of similar houses that Ranma had seen elsewhere in Japan during her Training Trip.

All along the short walk, Ranma deliberately kept her head down trying to put off the meeting with her new guardians for as long as possible. They were her - _It's getting more comfortable saying that. Good!_ \- distant relatives, her father's first cousin Saotome Rintaro and his wife Chinatsu to be precise, and carried the Saotome surname too, something which had her on edge.

As such, she was on guard the whole time. If they were going to launch a sneak attack to test her skills like her Pops would have in a similar situation, she would be ready.

"Greetings, Mr. Saotome," Mr. Mage said, pushing Ranma towards a lanky older man, with a square jaw and bony cheeks, short black hair that he wore swept back, red eyes, and who had a small amount of stubble on his chin. "As discussed, I'll be handing your niece over to you care now."

Saotome Rintaro

Without even waiting for a response from anyone, the Chinese man promptly spun on his heel casually waving over his shoulder at the shocked Japanese he left in his wake and jumped into the waiting cab that sped away the moment he closed the door.

 _So that's why he told the cab to wait._ Ranma thought to himself - _Herself! It's herself! Get it right, Ranma!_ \- with a familiar sense of bitter resignation as she was abandoned.

"I can't believe that man just did that!" A short middle aged woman with long, almost waist-length light green hair and golden eyes said with a snarl that immediately had Ranma tensing in anticipation of an attack.

Saotome Chinatsu

"Chinatsu!" The man, that had to be her uncle, chided the woman. "You're scaring Ranma-chan."

The woman, which was probably the man's wife and Ranma's aunt, sputtered at that, even as a little girl standing next to her looked up at her accusingly. The girl was about Ranma's age and wore glasses. Judging by the long hair that had a pair of ahoge sticking out of the top of her head, which was a few shades darker than the woman, the girl must be their daughter and Ranma's cousin.

The martial artist's examination of her new family was put on hold however as the man crouched down to her eye level and blocked her view.

"Hi there, Ranma," the man said with a welcoming smile. "I'm your Rintaro-ojichan. It's nice to meet you."

Ranma tried to return the greeting, but his- _her-_ mouth refused to work properly and all that came out were a string of unintelligible nonsense. In the end, Ranma had to take a deep breath to calm down a little before finally managing to squeak out a simple "Hello, Rintaro-Ojichan."

Her uncle frowned a little but didn't say why. Did Ranma do something wrong? He- _Stop it!_ -just got here! Surely she wasn't making them dislike her already!?

"Ojichan, really?" Uncle's wife scoffed, before pushing her husband to the side and took her turn crouching in front of Ranma's face. "My name's Chinastu, your _ojichan_ 's wife but you can call me Mama if you like."

If anything the green haired woman's forwardness was familiar. It reminded Ranma a little of her father who was never shy about saying whatever was on his mind, especially when it came to how much he thought he - _She!_ \- wasn't living up to his lofty expectations.

Nevertheless, Ranma couldn't even remember ever having anything resembling a maternal figure before. So calling _anyone_ something like Mama just felt alien to her, so she hesitated.

Thankfully, her aunt seemed to understand.

"It's okay if you can't," the woman said with a kind smile. "You can call me Obasan for now, okay?"

Rintaro-ojisan chuckled a little at her backtracking, but a quick jab to the gut by Obasan put a stop to that right away. Ranma was thoroughly confused by this byplay between her new guardians. They were arguing, right? But they weren't really angry. In fact, everything seemed friendly, heck, they even seemed to be having fun the whole time.

"Uh…."

"Nothing to worry about Ranma, we're just happy to meet you." Ojisan said as he reached out for Ranma's shoulder.

In hindsight, he was probably just trying to pat her or something. But in that moment, tense as she was Ranma reacted to it like she had been trained to by years of brutal ambushes. Her hands shot out on reflex and grabbed a hold of Ojisan's arm and in a textbook perfect judo throw flipped him over her shoulder.

As he lay on his back on the cobblestones, blinking in shock. Ranma began panicking.

 _Oh shit! Oh shit! I messed up! I messed up big time._ The redhead thought to herself as she backed away from her still winded uncle's body. _They'll send him-Urg, get it right!- away! Maybe back to Pops! Ugh, stupid stupid stupid!_

She was so out of it that she was caught completely by surprise by what happened next. One minute she was watching the two adults cautiously and instinctively preparing to bolt, when the next minute the little girl from earlier seemingly materialized right in front of her and began gushing all over her.

"That was so, so cool!" The girl said excitedly. "How did you do that? Can you teach me? I'm Haruna by the way, your new and adorable little sister. So can you, Onee-sama? Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?"

Ranma was flabbergasted as she- _Good, getting better-_ stared at the girl jumping up and down in excitement. Where those stars in her eyes?! What martial arts technique was this?

And why did it make Ranma feel so nervous?

Floundering, Ranma hastily looked around for some kind, any kind, of help.

Unfortunately, the only thing she got was laughter from the adults. Though after a moment it seemed Ojichan finally decided to take pity on her.

"And now I'm the joke. Haruna-chan, can't you have a little sympathy for Otouchan?" He said, with an exaggerated pout and sat up, rubbing his back in apparent pain. He wasn't even rubbing the right spot though, so Ranma was pretty sure he was just faking it.

"Eh?" Haruna cocked her head to the side in confusion as she hugged Ranma's arm.

"You're just jealous she's not gushing at you." Chinatsu teased her husband even as she helped him back to his feet.

"Aren't I in trouble?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Why would you be?" Rintaro asked as he patted some dirt off his clothes. "It's my fault for scaring you."

Ranma wanted to say she wasn't scared but… She couldn't bring herself to. It felt _nice_ to not be blamed for messing up. Her Pops always used to punish her when she messed up, even when she really didn't. But here Ojichan wasn't blaming her at all even when she _knew_ she did something wrong.

This act of kindness stirred something in Ranma that she didn't really understand, but which nevertheless brought tears to her eyes.

"Onee-sama, what's wrong?"

"Ranma, you okay?"

Haruna-chan and Obasan asked respectively, genuine worry clear in their voices and causing Ranma to only cry harder. Even when she would break an arm or suffer some other painful injury she never cried like this. So why was she bawling now? What was going on?

Ojichan seemed to understand though, even if he looked sad to be able to do so, and walking over he gently began pushing Ranma towards the front door.

"Why don't we head inside okay?" He encouraged. "Then we can all sit down, have some tea and chat about what's got you all worked up. That sound good?"

Still crying uncontrollably for reasons she herself didn't fully understand, Ranma could only nod and follow her uncle's instructions. All the while her aunt and cousin hovered over her radiating concern and protectiveness.

* * *

Without the aid of an alarm of any kind, Ranma woke up before the dawn as only years of grueling training could ingrain into a young child. However, unlike the many, many occasions that she accomplished this feat in the past, this time she was not waking up in a sleeping bag or on a dirt patch in some campsite in the middle of nowhere. Instead, this morning she awoke in the comfort of her bed in her new room in the Saotome household.

 _How weird,_ the redhead thought as she rolled onto the side of the wonderfully soft mattress and pooled the warm comforter around her petite frame.

Consulting her inner calendar before starting her day, a habit also cultivated by the rigours of her lifelong Training Trip, she was hit by a startling realization.

_It's been a week since I've come to live with Rintaro-ojichan, Chinatsu-obasan and Haruna-chan huh?_

The Ranma of two weeks before would probably never have admitted it, but she'd enjoyed the past week. In fact, it might have been the happiest time in her admittedly short life.

_Oh, who am I kidding? I've never been happier. Never._

Even though Ranma felt so confused and stayed quiet most of the week, her family had done nothing but make her feel wanted, loved and comfortable.

Plus they gave her cookies.

Cookies were, in her opinion, the greatest thing ever created. Her love for cookies had all started when her female relatives had decided to bake up some cookies for Ranma after learning she couldn't remember ever eating any. But neither Haruna-chan nor even Obasan were good bakers even if they put in a good effort. In the end though it was still nothing compared to even the store bought stuff Ojichan had ended up getting after their failed little experiment in the kitchen.

Maybe that was an unfair comparison. Because that freaking bakery nearby was just awesome!

_How is it not a national chain!?_

It was literally that good.

Not everything great about her time with the Saotomes was about cookies though. There was plenty of other wonderful things too.

Like how Rintaro-ojichan was always there to help her out and answer questions. Like when Ranma didn't know how to use the bath because it had some fancy new electronic system that Ranma had never seen before.

He'd just casually asked for permission to come into the bathroom, which Ranma had to remind herself was because she was a girl and he was a guy, and without even laughing at her like Pops would have, had taught her all about it. Well he did laugh a little, but sheepishly at himself while admitting that it had taken him a week to work out how to properly use it when they installed it too.

The only time he didn't answer her questions were when Ranma started asking him about things about being a girl.

 _Like that one time I just started stripping in the hall before I even got to the bathroom._ Ranma recalled with a smile. _He just got all red faced and sputtered out that I couldn't do that because I was a girl. Not that he explained what he meant._

He did refer her to Obasan though, who was always more than happy to help her adjust to her true gender. Honestly, the woman was a godsend since Ranma felt confused over even the most basic of girl things. Or was it called feminine care?

Whenever they came up, she would always sit Ranma down and explain things to her calmly. She never got upset whenever she asked silly questions, some that even Ranma was embarrassed to ask.

 _Like that time I asked about whether I would grow breasts._ Ranma thought with some melancholy.

That had been a bittersweet conversation because while the redhead was deeply moved by the care her aunt was showing her by answering her awkward question… She was also at the same time sad to learn, though like so many things she wasn't sure why, that thanks to being cursed to be a little girl forever she probably wasn't going to be growing any.

Yeah, apparently her curse had been locked. How that happened no one was completely sure but at some point after her Pops had kidnapped her from the Amazon village, she'd been hit by some magic that locked her curse. Meaning she was stuck in an unaging, possibly immortal, body of a ten year old. Ranma had asked what that meant for her, but neither of her guardians were sure either but they promised to help her figure it out and that was more than enough for her. It was more than Pops would have offered.

Above and beyond answering her questions though, both of Ranma's new guardians also went out of their way to shower her and Haruna with attention. They made it a point to keep checking in on both of them every so often to make sure they were feeling okay. Usually it was just a glance, but occasionally they would make up excuses just to hang out with them.

 _Like that time Ojichan asked us what we were doing and ended up having a tea party with us all morning!_ Ranma chuckled as she relived the amusing memory in her mind.

She'd honestly never thought that having a pretend tea party could ever be fun, even after realizing she was a girl, but having one with Haruna was a blast. Who else would have interdimensional evil overlords as party guests? Or discuss the subjugation of whole realities as polite conversation? It was all hilariously over the top and that's what made it fun. That and the strange faces Ojichan made as things got more and more crazy.

Haruna had told her she could come up with the next theme for the tea party but Ranma honestly felt clueless on how to do that.

 _Back to them always making sure we're safe. I think, maybe, some people might find it smothering. We_ are _ten years old. But I don't! Not at all._

She enjoyed being worried about so much. Her Pops hadn't seem to care what happened to her a lot of the time. He'd just throw her into one dangerous martial arts training or other then just leave her to sink or swim seemingly without a care in the world. To Ranma, Ojichan and Obasan's loving care was a welcome change.

As for Haruna… It seemed her cousin just took it as a chance to troll her parents. She was weird like that. Heck, Ranma didn't even know what trolling was until Haruna explained it.

It wasn't just the adults that made her stay so far so amazing though. Haruna was a big part too. She could ramble on at times, but Ranma actually listened even if her topics were weird. She'd, in fact, learned a lot from Haruna, though she knew better than to admit it. That one time being nearly hugged till she turned blue was warning enough. How could a girl with no training be so strong?

But really, Haruna knew a lot of things that Ranma didn't. Things normal kids knew but she didn't, like things about games, T.V. shows and manga. Ranma had known they existed, of course, but she'd never known there was so much to them until her sister - _Cousin! She's my cousin._ \- taught her all about it.

Though there was one thing that really stood out to Ranma. Whenever Ranma did something that she considered 'cool', Haruna would gush about how awesome she was, getting Ranma to feel all flustered but happy. Especially because Ranma considered things like using the balance she'd learned from her martial arts to carry all their dishes from dinner into the kitchen for washing after the meal pretty standard.

Though she'd come to increasingly see that what she considered normal was very different from what other people believed was normal.

Beyond just the people, the atmosphere in the house was nice and yet so different from what Ranma was used too. For example, chores weren't a burden here. Sure they still needed to be done, but where the old man would dump them all on her, saying it built character. Even if she was sure it was just him being lazy. In contrast to all that, with her relatives, everyone did their fair share.

Actually, Ojichan and Obasan had wanted her to rest a bit first and only start later but Ranma had insisted. In the end, they had reluctantly agreed after she'd promised to tell them if she thought she was working too hard. She'd been worked to the bone by her Pops throughout her Training Trip, so she couldn't imagine the relatively light load that her guardians assigned her as being hard in anyway.

A beam of sunlight touched her eyes and Ranma was drawn out of her reflections.

_Shit! I got too caught up in my daydreaming! And now I'm running late._

Bolting up, her body rigid, Ranma looked out the window in a panic to see the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Scrambling out of bed, the young martial artist rushed over to the closet. In her haste, she got her feet tangled up in her sheets, but a hasty handstand followed by a acrobatic flip allowed her to both avoid a nasty fall and reach the cupboard in seconds.

The closet was filled with all the new clothes Obachan had brought her. Dresses, pretty blouses, simple tee-shirts, pants, skirts and everything in between. It was such a wide spectrum, so that as Obachan had explained, Ranma could experiment and find what she was comfortable with.

The redhead had so far mainly stuck with a pants and shirt combo since she'd started staying with her relatives. They were pretty close to the Chinese silks she'd used on the Training Trip and frankly, she needed to hold onto _something_ that was familiar.

Though she was increasingly intrigued by the prospect of wearing skirts, and the pretty blouses. Even the dresses.

 _After all, I'm a girl right? Shouldn't I at least give them a try?_ Ranma mused as she eyed a particularly frilly dress with morbid curiosity.

 _Not now though._ The redhead decided as she lazily grabbed her old Chinese silks. With the clothes that for so long had practically been her second skin in hand, she fell into an automatic routine as she put them on.

This rote process was interrupted though when as she slipped her shirt on and turned to check herself in the mirror to be sure she put them on right, she saw the beginner's spellbook that Obachan had bought her the other day when she'd expressed an interest in magic.

Ranma had been thinking a lot after everything at Jusenkyo, and how her curse had been locked. The end result of which was the decision that being stuck in a tiny body for the rest of her life wasn't on her to-do list. She was resolved to find a way to break her curse. Sadly though, magic was some pretty complex stuff or at least that was what her uncle and aunt told her.

So when Ranma cracked open a spell book for the first time it had surprised her family how _easy_ it all came to her. She understood it, heck the redhead even liked it! To her it was like the Art, an exciting new thing to learn and master! Heck, it might be even more exciting!

It was this sense of excitement that was stirred at the sight of the book.

 _Oh yeah, I stopped reading when I was halfway through binding spells last night didn't I?_ Ranma mused as she picked up the spell book. _Maybe I should finish it before practice today? I mean, missing one day won't hurt right?_

Her choice made, Ranma sat down and fishing out her exercise book from her drawers to take notes, she began studying from her spellbook.

Lost in her exploration of the intricacies of magic, it would be about an hour later that her reading was interrupted when her door burst open to allow a pouty looking Haruna to stomp her way into the room.

"Onee-sama! It's time for breakfast!" Looking at the book in Ranma's hands, she marched up and grabbed the redhead by the wrist. "You can read later, silly! Kaa-chan made pancakes!"

"But I'm still halfway through deconstructing this spe-"

"Silence! Pancakes take priority!" Haruna said in a demanding tone and started dragging Ranma towards the door.

"Give me ten more minutes! Or just five. Please?"

"Mou! Onee-sama is too studious." Haruna said pouting even more deeply as they finally made it to the door.

Giving a longing look to her stuff, Ranma allowed Haruna to drag her out of the room.

* * *

The whole Saotome family was gathered in the family home's backyard one balmy day. At one end of the yard, Ranma was doing some stretches while on the other end Ojichan was waiting patiently.

After weeks of pleading on Ranma's part, her uncle had finally agreed to spar with her. She'd been wanting to test herself against a mage for some time, that and she was worried that she was getting rusty. However, despite her reasons, or maybe because of them, Ojichan had initially been reluctant but eventually agreed after a healthy dose of the puppy dog eyes look she'd learned from Haruna - _She always has good advice!_ \- and a little whining about wanting to see a cool spar from her cousin as well.

Obasan was standing between them, playing referee.

She'd disapproved of the whole thing but like Ojichan had conceded in the face of her two daughters' - _I'm not her daughter!_ \- pleas.

The last member of the household was seated on a comfy wicker chair on the back porch and thoroughly prepared to be the enthusiastic audience. She'd even prepared a bag of popcorn! No one could accuse Haruna of doing anything by halves.

Though man did it smell good from here. Maybe they could share some while watching Ghibli movies together later.

"Ranma-chan, Rintaro, ready?" Obasan asked, earning nods from both participants. "Then… Match… Start!"

At Obasan's declaration, Ranma immediately leapt across the distance at Ojichan.

Seeing her direct assault, the man chuckled and promptly flickered behind her.

 _Shundō (Instant Movement)!_ Ranma cursed.

Ojisan and Obasan had taught her all about the basic movement spell and she'd thought that she was prepared for it but she'd severely underestimated just how fast it allowed its user to move.

Why couldn't her dumb old Pops teach her a move like that? Or at least a counter to it?

Even as she griped about her Pops' subpar training, she used the skills honed by years of martial arts training to spin around but only in time to see her uncle smiling at her and casting a spell her way.

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ (Magic Arrow, Lightning Series)"

Reacting quickly Ranma performed a series of leaps and bounds that would have left an Olympic gymnast green with envy as she dodged the lightning arrow that was performing increasingly complex maneuvers as it continued to home in on her like a bloodhound.

From her readings, Ranma knew you could fire more than _one_ yet her uncle seemed to think he'd only need a single magic arrow to deal with her. Ranma felt a little annoyed at that. It felt like her uncle was underestimating her. Unfortunately for her, the distraction cost her and she fumbled her last evasion.

 _Damnit! I_ know _I could have evaded this a month ago!_ Ranma cursed internally. _I've been slacking off in my training too much since I started living with Ojichan and Obasan. No point crying over spilt milk though. Time to pull out my trump card!_

" _Obice_ (Barrier)!" Ranma incanted the spell that had been the pride of her studies in magic since she moved in with the Saotomes'. The spell conjured a magical shield in the form of a slowly rotating magical circle that protected her from the incoming magic arrow.

Her uncle blinked in surprise, heck she was pretty sure her aunt and cousin were too though she wasn't about to shift her focus away from her uncle to check. Exploiting his surprise, Ranma dashed at him in a full sprint with her barrier in front of her like a shield.

She was gonna plow right over him!

Her uncle was unfazed though, instead he just chuckled and launched a wave of _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ at her. Instead of the original single arrow, this time Ojichan had unleashed dozens of lightning arrows that proceeded to slam into Ranma's shield straining it though it held. If only barely.

Cracks had spread all across the shield, but it was still intact!

At least it did until she got within about eight feet, at which point the damage proved too great and it finally shattered allowing a number of the lightning arrows to strike her and send her flying back.

"Alright, it's over!" Obasan called immediately. And like that, the match was done.

Kind of a shame, Ramna's blood was pumping.

Ojichan walked over to her and pulled her up to her feet.

"You can't just slap me with a barrier, sweetie." He told her with an amused grin.

"I will someday," Ranma muttered quietly to herself with a pout.

Seeing that the match had ended, Haruna rushed to Ranma's side to do what she did best: gush.

"Onee-sama! That was so cool! You mixing up your martial arts with magic like that was beyond cool! You were like a kung fu wizard! You know like-"

Ranma just nodded along with the ease of practice as Haruna drifted off onto a tangent by talking about the possibility of copying the style of a kung fu wizard, her words, from her latest favourite anime.

Instead of focusing on her sister's - _Cousin! Remember she's your cousin!_ \- rant, she found herself met by an inner conundrum. The spar had been exhilarating. But not for the reason Ranma had thought it would have.

She had hoped it would have validated that she was still a great martial artist, but it had in fact did the opposite by showing that her skills in the Art had degraded.

_Why then did I enjoy it so much?_

It wasn't just the thrill of a good fight. That was there, of course, but Ranma was familiar enough with it to pick it out and it wasn't the biggest part of her good cheer. A moment of thought gave her an answer that surprised her. What had _really_ made it fun for her was seeing the way her magic had stood up to her uncle's. Sure it had lost, but she was a rank amaeteur and he was an experienced mage. Yet, she'd managed to hold her own at least for a while

The sense of accomplishment at this was oddly more than she'd ever felt from defeating all those martial arts experts her Pops used to pit her against. The situation was the same, but why did this make her feel so much more fulfilled?

As she tried to figure out this puzzle, she was confronted with another question that shook her worldview down to its very core.

_Since when had Anything Goes or any martial arts feel… fun like this?_

The answer that welled up in her mind, felt distinctly uncomfortable but held the ring of truth.

_Not since the very beginning when Pops first started training me. It quickly stopped being something fun but rather an obligation to practice martial arts._

But magic… Magic was different.

Sure, Ranma had started studying it to learn how to break her curse. And to somehow be closer to her new guardians, both of whom were mages.

 _But… I love it._ Ranma admitted. _Magic's wonderful, colorful! And, and… I chose to study it…_

That was what made all the difference in the end, Ranma realized fighting back tears. Martial arts had been forced on her, but magic? Her guardians hadn't even offered to teach her until she'd requested it. It was thus something _she_ had chosen to learn.

"Hm, maybe I could try that too. Oh, maybe turn the barrier into a bat!" Haruna declared with childish seriousness, but paused when she noticed the trickle of tears flowing from Ranma's eyes, "Eh, Onee-sama? What's wrong?"

Obasan didn't wait for an answer though before pulling Ranma into a tight hug. One that Ranma returned just as fiercely.

"Let it all out," Obasan said comfortingly as she rubbed circles on Ranma's back. "Whatever you're crying about let all the feeling out. It's okay, Mama's got you."

Ranma didn't bother correcting her aunt, she was too overwhelmed with emotion to bother. All she did was nod and press herself into the older woman and cry her heart out.

 _E-Even my love of the Art!?_ She raged in her mind, as she sobbed uncontrollably. _Must everything I have be a l-lie!?_

* * *

It took a couple of months of paperwork, but eventually Ranma was enrolled into the local elementary school alongside Haruna. Thus, a few weeks after her first day in school, the two girls were walking home together.

Haruna was gushing - _When isn't she?_ Ranma thought with amusement- about how Ranma had aced the latest math test.

"Onee-sama, did you _really_ spend the whole time till you were ten on the road?" The green haired girl asked skeptically. She wrinkled her nose, "'Cause you seem pretty super smart. I mean, you're Onee-sama so it makes sense, but still!"

"Well, I did attend school sometimes when we stopped in one place or other long enough, but I never stayed long." The redhead hastily elaborated though when her cousin shot her an even more skeptical look. "Well, I always managed to do okay on the few tests I took so, uh, maybe you're right?"

"Of course I am! My Onee-sama is a genius!" Haruna declared proudly. "What else can I expect from you? You're totally awesome!"

Ranma could just blush at the heartfelt but exaggerated praise. It was weird hearing such hero-worship? Was that the word? Yeah, it probably was. Anyways, it was odd hearing such hero-worship directed at her, especially after years of Pops belittling her at every chance he got. The slimy jerk.

"If only I had half your smarts Onee-sama," Haruna said, suddenly getting all gloomy. "I only got a 68/100. Mama is going to be so disappointed."

Ranma patted Haruna on the back in the same way Obasan always did when she comforted her, "No worries. We can study together next time."

"I should have studied more _this time_!" Haruna cried out dramatically, before adding in a mutter. "I suck at magic and now I'm no good at school too? I suck."

"Don't say that!" Ranma countered passionately. "I'll help you study, so please don't say that."

"Onee-sama, you're the best!" Haruna said with a hug, before getting distracted. "Oh! A kitty!"

Ranma felt herself go rigid at that, even as Haruna let go and happily skipped ahead.

"Oh, how cute!" Haruna said excitedly. "It even let me pet it! Onee-sama take a look."

With that Haruna enthusiastically skipped back and grabbed hold of Ranma. The redhead was tempted to just brush her off and run for the hills, but this was _Haruna_. She couldn't do that to her sister! So all she did was remain frozen as the green haired girl spun her around to face the hell beast.

Her green eyes locked onto the hideous, vicious beast that was in her little sister's arms. With its foul claws, menacing pads and serpentine whiskers, it was something straight out of Ranma's nightmares! Panic made Ranma step back, her chest rose and fell rapidly as her breathing sped up like a bullet train and her eyes dilated in fear.

"Onee-sama, what's wrong?" She heard Haruna ask, but she barely heard her. It was like she was very far away even though she was standing right next to her.

As the hellspawn let out a thunderous meow the rush of terrified emotion finally overwhelmed the poor girl. Her vision went black as she lost all awareness of the world around her.

* * *

Ranma woke up in her room back home some time later. It was evening time at least if the long shadows cast by the setting sun was any indication.

"Ranma-chan! You're awake!" Obasan said with breathy relief as Ranma pushed herself into a sitting position only to be pulled into a crushing hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."

All Ranma managed was a confused mumble as she struggled to piece together what happened.

_Why's Obasan so worried?_

"She's awake you two, come on in!" Obasan pulled back enough to shout.

There were the sound of frantic footsteps outside her room, as Ojichan and Haruna presumably rushed to come see her. Ranma though was just confused.

"Obasan, what happened?"

Before Obasan could reply, Haruna rushed into the room and in a concerned babble asked, "Are you okay? The moment you saw the kitty you got all weird and started acting all cat like. Like a real cat. A scared cat. You were all curled up in a ball and crying and meowing. I was so, so worried. I had to call Touchan to come fetch us because I couldn't carry you home. I tried but I couldn't. Are you okay? Really, really okay?"

Ranma could barely make out what her cousin had said, all she really managed to get was that she was worried about her.

"I'm fine?" The redhead replied, uncertain that she was properly answering Haruna's question.

Ojichan cleared his throat, making Ranma turn to him where he was standing behind Haruna. Seeing he had her attention, he asked, "What happened exactly?"

Ranma looked down at her bedspread, one with pretty designs of all kinds of magical runes that she'd learned about in her spellbooks, something which her Obachan had sewed specially for her and tried to recall what happened. As it slowly came to her, she felt her cheeks heating up with shame.

Swallowing hard, and ignoring her burning face, she finally admitted the awful truth. "I-I'm afraid of cats."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Ranma was gripped by a burst of fear. Would admitting such a weakness make her family think twice about having taken her in? The redhead didn't know if she could _survive_ if that happened!

Sensing her distress, Obasan sat on the side of her bed and pulled her into a one armed hug.

Ranma wiggled into her embrace, relishing the warmth it offered. She was feeling so small at the moment and the comfort it radiated was something she desperately needed.

Ojichan however was insistent and pressed further, "Ailurophobia usually doesn't cause people to have such a strange reaction."

Ranma swallowed hard at this, as she realized she would have to explain the full shameful story behind her weakness.

"I-It's 'cause of the N-Nekoken." Ranma stuttered out.

"Nekoken? What's that? A kung fu kitty?" Haruna asked, her irrepressible curiosity rearing its head.

"I-It's a martial arts technique Pops t-tried to teach me. Makes one fight with feline ferocity. Or at least, that's what it was supposed to do. The um, the version Pop forced me to learn however turned me more into a housecat."

"What do you mean 'forced you to learn'?" Obachan asked, a sharp edge to her voice.

"Uh. Well, he didn't really teach me. When I was six, he kinda just tied fish sausages around me and tossed me into a pit of hungry cats. He thought that this would imprint the fighting movements and instincts of cats into my head. It didn't work out."

Miner Gladio Exercitatio (Miner Drill Sword)

"Didn't work out?" Obasan said angrily, as she stood and summoned her artifact, **Miner Gladio Exercitatio** (Miner Drill Sword), a sword with the shape of a cylindrical, drill-shaped pillar made up of three independently rotating segments which were currently spinning rapidly. "He gave you an irrational fear of cats which when triggered can induce a state where you blackout and behave like a cat! And he did it by torturing you! I'm going to kill that man!"

"Chinatsu! We need to focus on Ranma right now." Ojichan shouted. "You're scaring her."

For one of the few times in Ranma's life, she was willing to admit Ojichan was right. She was terrified. She had never seen her usually gentle Obasan so angry. At the same time though, she felt warmed by the idea that she had gotten upset on her behalf.

"Sorry Ranma-chan," Obasan said quickly as she put away her artifact. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ranma just nodded, as Obasan pulled her into a hug once more with Haruna joining in. Together, the mother and daughter were hugging the stuffing out of her, but Ranma didn't mind.

 _It feels nice._ The redhead noted as she cuddled with the two other females.

Patting her back comfortingly, Obasan turned to Ojichan. "We're making that man pay, right?"

"Later," The man nodded, before returning his attention to Ranma but whatever he was about to say was cut off by Haruna.

"I'll never play with kitties again." Haruna promised. "I'm super sorry!"

"It's not your fault, Haruna-chan." Ranma said automatically. She hated when her sister - _Cousin!_ \- was upset, especially when it was because of her.

"Ranma-chan," Ojichan said, recapturing the redhead's attention. "Considering how serious your fear of cats is, do you think it would be okay if you talk to someone, a professional, about it? It might help stop what happened today from happening again."

Ranma considered this. On one hand, she was still very much ashamed of having a weakness like this so she wasn't sure she was ready to talk about it. But on the other hand, the redhead knew how common cats were and understood how a fear of them was kinda crippling so she really wanted treatment.

 _Didn't I just talk about it with everyone?_ Ranma thought as she mulled over the choice. _No one seemed to think I'm weak or anything because of it, right? Maybe, this professional wouldn't either? Maybe, just maybe, it's okay?_

"I can try?" Ranma said with uncertainty.

"Atta girl," Obasan said, kissing Ranma's forehead. "But before you agree you should know that they'll want to talk about what your sperm donor did to you. Like ask you to describe what it was like."

Ranma shuddered, and thought about it. It wasn't something she ever wanted to relive, but… If it helped her get better...

"Sperm donor? What's that?" Haruna asked, her desire to know everything once more getting her distracted though not enough for her to stop hugging Ranma.

Something Ranma deeply appreciated. Getting hugged was nice.

"Later honey," Ojichan told Haruna looking meaningfully at Ranma.

Much to Ranma's surprise, Haruna actually reined in her curiosity, no easy task the redhead knew, and waited patiently.

Ranma offered the other girl a grateful smile for that, and made her decision.

"I'll do it," Ranma said, with a little bit of her usual confidence.

* * *

Three years after our redheaded heroine had been adopted into the Saotome family, all four members were standing on the platform of the bullet train station as the daughters, Ranma and Haruna, prepared to set off for junior high at the prestigious Mahora Academy.

"I'm so proud of you Ranma-chan," Ojichan said as he patted the redhead on the head. Most other thirteen years old would have been embarrassed at the gesture, but Ranma preened. She liked it when when her guardians were physical in their affection. "You've done a great job catching up to Haruna-chan academically despite your terribly neglected education when you were younger."

Obasan growled angrily at the reminder of what Ranma went through as a child, before turning to the girl with a smile. "Your Ojichan is right. It's not easy doing what you've done. I'm proud of you too."

"Wasn't a big deal, Obasan." Ranma replied, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment at the praise. "I just wanted to accompany Haruna when she went away for school. I didn't want her to go alone is all."

"Aw, Onee-sama!" Haruna cried as she glomped her. "You're the best!"

"Eh, I guess?"

Ojichan chuckled, "Still so modest, but I guess that's another thing that makes you, you."

"Be sure to take care of Haruna for us. You know she's prone to trouble. Be a good big sister and watch out for her, alright?."

"Mama!" Haruna whined in embarrassment as Ranma tried but failed to stammer out a reply, too shocked at being called Haruna's sister.

While Ranma was trying to recover from Obasan's statement, Ojichan turned to his daughter.

"You sure you two will be fine sitting the train to Mahora on your own, Haruna-chan?"

"Touchan, we're thirteen! We don't need our parents escorting us to school!" The green haired teenager insisted. "Right Ranma-nee?"

Ranma just nodded automatically, still too distracted by the reminder that the Saotomes fully accepted her as a part of their family to even know what she was agreeing to.

"Rintaro, give it a rest. They're big girls now." Obasan chided, even as she pulled Ranma into a hug. "And Haruna-chan stop exploiting your Nee-chan's distraction to use her to win your arguments. It's not nice."

"Hai," Haruna responded with an apologetic look at Ranma. "Sorry, Onee-sama."

Ranma just nodded distractedly. She was too busy enjoying the hug.

Pulling back, Chinatsu-obasan shot the redhead a worried look, "You really sure you're okay travelling without us? We can grab a few things quick and come along."

Her wits returned, after quite a struggle, Ranma held up her hands placating. "We'll be fine and I'll keep an eye on Haruna-chan."

"We know you will," Ojisan said with a proud smile. "You always do."

"Rintaro!" Obasan cried out suddenly. "Our little girls are growing up so fast! It's not fair!"

"Dear," Ojisan said with a longsuffering wince at his wife's dramatics.

"I'm just being nostalgic, ignore me." The woman said, before pulling the two girls into one last hug. She held them tight for a long moment before reluctantly releasing them, before pushing them towards Rintaro.

The girls took the hint and enthusiastically hugged the man as well.

Finally done with their goodbyes, the parents pushed the girls onto the waiting bullet train where the two girls hurriedly took seats by the window.

Haruna eagerly pressed her face right up to the glass, waving frantically as they departed from the station. Ranma was right next to her, beaming at her family as the train started to move and the Saotome parents became smaller and smaller as they headed to their new school.

* * *

**Omake: Justice is served**

In a far away plane, only distantly connected to Ranma's world, a pair of figures stood watching as the young redhead integrated into her new family. Time had a loose hold on this place, and what for Ranma took three years, they observed in a blink of an eye.

" _ **You see now why I want to intervene? Why I must see justice served?"**_ The broader shouldered of the two men said. He wore an elaborate gold mantle over a green jumpsuit made from reptilian scales with a attached belt and buckle that showed off his muscled physique and which was tucked into thigh high white boots with green triangles decorating the collars. His whole head was hidden behind a green helmet with a sliver area where the mouth should be that was modeled after the flesh underneath, a black visor that was surrounded by a silver border accentuated by teeth like designs that moved as if they were constantly chewing something. Most unnerving of all was his shadow, which did not reflect his apparent appearance but instead took the shape of a monstrous winged Godzilla.

"Uh, not really?" His companion, a lanky man with red hair and wearing a hooded robe said with a shrug. "But you've paid me for the right to interfere with this nursery world, so go right ahead."

" _ **You cannot see the injustice!?"**_

"Frankly, no." The redhead admitted. "Justice is your domain, not mine. I mean, what _is_ justice?"

Mentally it was pleading it'd turn into a paradox question. It always enjoyed seeing others tie themselves up into confused arguments trying to answer those.

" _ **If you need to ask that question then you cannot understand it."**_ The helmeted man said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Eh, it was worth a shot.

"Alright, alright, no need to get all preachy on me, Justice." The hooded man said with a sigh. "So whatcha want to do?"

" _ **That pathetic excuse for the young one's-"**_

"Ahem, spoilers!"

Justice just looked at the man admonishingly for the interruption.

"Hey, some find spoilers sins, don't give me that look mister good samaritan."

" _ **Do not blame me for your failure to manage your timeline properly."**_ Justice hit back. " _ **Now as I was saying, I want to exercise some justice on that girl's behalf and punish her sperm donor for his abuse of her in her youth."**_

"That's all? Go right ahead then!" He said, pulling out an old timey camcorder. Gotta appreciate the classics.

" _ **Don't mind if I do."**_

With that a cloud of mist appeared before the two men and began showing the image of Genma Saotome breaking out of prison the very night the mages had handed him over to the mundane Japanese authorities to face charges of child abuse among many other crimes.

The panda man had just busted out of the perimeter wall of the prison and was running at his rather impressive, for a unaugmented human, top speed into the forest and away from the blazing searchlights of the rural prison where he was housed when a massive white tiger jumped at him.

" _ **Rawr! Face the fury of the White Tiger!"**_ Justice said, much to his counterpart's amusement.

Now normally Genma Saotome was more than capable of handling a mere tiger. But this beast was no mere tiger. This was a manifestation of Justice's will and was thus empowered by immense cosmic powers… of JUSTICE! Its claws thus had the power to rend even spacetime and its muscles were powered by the strength of… RIGHTEOUSNESS!

As such the martial arts master soon found himself fleeing for his very life as the cosmic creature pursued him, its attacks always just missing by a hair's breadth. Enough to terrify the man and keep him running but not enough to hurt him. Well, not permanently at least. He could survive a few scratches along his back, right? He was a martial arts master, wasn't he?

Justice toyed with the man for a full minute, which to the poor human was a whole year. Harassing him with not just his white tiger which would chase him every other night only to disappear every morning, but also a pride of **Rainbow Lions** that hunted him through the day, stalking him relentlessly and preventing him from getting anywhere near to civilization and help but not stopping him from foraging for the necessities of life. If only barely. They were not above attacking him even when he relieved himself if they thought he was getting too comfortable.

By the end of it all, the once proud Genma Saotome was left a broken man that collapsed unto the ground to die. It was only then did Justice decide that enough was enough and had mercy on the fool.

" _ **And the deed is done!"**_ Justice declared at last, stepping away from the cloud of gas that was already dissipating.

"You sure?" His companion asked. That was incredibly amusing, what with all the goofy sound effects the other cosmic being made as he tortured the poor fool, and it was sad to see it end.

" **Yes, now off to the next poor lamb, away! For JUSTICE!"** The helmeted man said as he walked off, vanishing from sight a moment later.

"Man, what a fruitloop." The redhead muttered.

" _ **Ah, but before I go. Thank you again, Mage of the Beginning."**_ Justice's disembodied head said as it suddenly popped into being before the Mage before disappearing as abruptly as it had appeared.

The Mage just blinked before it broke out into hysterical laughter at the absurdity of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the wonderful team of Nameless as always.
> 
> I, I think my teeth hurt from how sweet this chapter was. Ow, now I actually have to get my teeth fixed for the first time since ever… weird.
> 
> Nameless: I might have diabetes now… that was just… Sweet is just not a powerful enough word to describe the amount of fluff we put into this chapter.
> 
> And so, the girls are on their way to Mahora. Now we just need to finish up Negi's origin arc. Bum Bum Bum! And we know how that's going to end. Of course, us being us, there are twists. Screw canon!
> 
> Nameless: Hey now, we're not that adverse to canon. At the very least we're not ditching it entirely. The rails are still there, we're just not following them to the same stations. As we've discussed elsewhere before, we generally aren't the type to go full on radical AU. We much prefer to maintain a reasonable resemblance to the canon story that we originally fell in love with. Though in this case, we obviously ditched the Ranma side of things because… Well, what story does it really have? That said, even then some of the more important stations of Ranma canon will be visited, though they'll look vastly different.
> 
> Fine fine, we'll let the rails stay, BUT! If only they behave. Anyways, I am loving the sister vibe we got going on. Plus, I cannot wait for what shenanigans Haruna will get Ranma into next, for realz. At least she's safe from Haruna's hentai sketches… or is she?
> 
> Nameless: Haruna isn't into incest at least, but there's nothing saying Ranma wouldn't get caught up by accident. So yeah...
> 
> My god, the yuri yuri is real! Ah, jk, we're not into incest guys, come on!
> 
> Nameless: Actually… Well, my personal perversions aside, both of us are all for yuri… Any long term readers of our works should know what to expect by now. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Ok, before we forget. We need to talk about our portrayal of Genma. I, and I'm speaking for myself only here, have seen his actions interpreted many ways. But even the most generous see him as a misguided, obsessed fool whose actions while arguably child abuse was something that in the end Ranma didn't mind since it made him strong. However, this is not how outsiders or a deprogrammed Ranma (like our version is) would think. Objectively, Genma's treatment for Ranma is child abuse. I don't think there's much room to dispute this. So in a situation where this abuse is not just played for laughs… Well, Genma comes off as the monster he really is. Outside of the tone of canon Ranma there's really no way to redeem the panda in my opinion. Hence, our portrayal of him as a monster in this fic.
> 
> E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace out my peeps!


	4. Origins: Negi II - A Home in Flames

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Four: Origins: Negi II - A Home in Flames**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was late at night and the Springfields, Negi and Nekane, were walking home after yet another funeral. In the week since the attack on their village by that strange burrowing caterpillar monster, they had attended way too many of them.

There had been _six_ today alone!

It was why they were headed home so late. Thankfully with the last of the injured in the fighting either recovered or dead, this would be the last funeral.

That was small consolation to Negi though who was feeling dead on his feet as he all but dragged himself into the small cottage he shared with his cousin. It was _way_ past his usual bedtime and he was feeling it. Big time.

Feeling utterly exhausted all he wanted was to crawl onto his bed and sleep. Unfortunately Big Sis Nekane was having none of that.

"Change into your pajamas first, Negi." She scolded him gently as she followed him into his room. "I know you're tired but you'll ruin your good clothes if you go to bed in them."

"O-Okay, Nekane." Negi replied as moving on autopilot he changed into his nightclothes even as Nekane chuckled at him for a moment before leaving to get ready for bed herself.

Usually Negi would have taken this opportunity to sneak into his cousin's room and sleep in her bed for the night. He liked cuddling next to her as they both slept. It always made him feel super loved and comfortable. Sorta like how he thought having a mother might be like. Tonight Negi was too tired to even think about it. Instead, the moment he flopped onto his bed he almost immediately fell asleep.

It was a fitful sleep though. Even as he snuggled into his pillow, the horrible images of the attack on his village replayed themselves in his dreams. As a result, the young lad twisted and turned in discomfort from his nightmares.

He was rescued from them however when in the middle of the night he felt someone urgently shaking his shoulder. Blinking his eyes open, he saw the blurry figure of Nekane leaning over the edge of his bed.

"Huh? Nekane?"

"Negi, shh, wake up. W-We need to go." She told him, her voice shaken even though she looked calm.

"What's going on?" He asked as she pulled him up.

His cousin didn't answer as she grabbed his shoes and put them on. "Alright let's go and stay quiet Negi."

Confused, Negi just obeyed his cousin and padded behind her as she rushed out of the house. They walked out into a view that would be burned into the young boy's mind forever.

It was a hellscape, even worse than the previous attack. Fires raged everywhere, flashes of magic were streaking through the night with abandon, people were screaming and demons laughing. It was a scene of madness. He tried to say something, anything, to describe his horror but his voice failed him.

Unlike him Nekane was miraculously able to keep enough of her cool to keep moving. Pulling on his arm, she hurriedly dragged him around their house.

"Keep moving, Negi. W-We can't stop until we're safe."

Negi wanted to ask where they could go that would be safe in the middle of such an attack, but still his voice refused to work. This time it wasn't just out of fright. That was still there but it was combined with a strange sense of confused longing as he caught sight of who looked like the mastermind behind the attack.

As the two cousins had raced behind their house, Negi had managed to get a look at the town's main square. There he saw a tall man in a long hooded robe and holding a long staff with a head that looked like a crooked branch standing there surrounded by a swarm of butterflies while he idly watched the villagers fight and die.

As they turned to run, they hardly made it twenty feet before a gargoyle-like demon landed right in front of them. It's wicked maw already opened with the flickering light of a fire burning within that rapidly grew to a large blaze before being belched out at them in a fireball.

"No!" Nekane shouted desperately as she flung a wand in front of her. A series of magical shields appearing in front of them in response to her desperate spell.

The fireball shattered the first of her shields but splashed against the second before fizzling out. The demon though wasn't so easily fended off. Exploiting the distraction its fireball had caused, it lunged at them its claws raised to tear the two humans apart.

It never finished its jump. It was mid leap when a barrage of stone slammed into it from the side with enough force to turn whole portions of its body into bloody mist and leaving the rest to be carried by its inertia where the chunks of meat slammed into Nekane's remaining shields.

"Follow me if you want to live!" Old Man Stein shouted at them as he jogged up to them. His robes torn and covered in blood, none of which seemed to be his own.

"Mr. Stein!" Nekane cried out in relief as she rushed over to him, pulling Negi along with her. "What's going on? Who's attacking us?"

"The Mage obviously." The old man said pointing over his shoulder at the town square with his staff, even as he began cautiously leading the Springfields out of town via the back alleys. "The attack is centred around the lab where the experimental sealing staff is being housed."

"But how did it find out?" Nekane gasped.

"Doesn't matter." The Old Man grunted as he sent a row of earthen spikes towards a group of imps just ahead of them who had been playing arsonist. "Keep moving. At this rate the village is a loss. We're going to regroup at the Bryn Gwyn stones."

Nekane nodded, her hold on Negi's wrist tightening somewhat painfully. He didn't understand half the things they were talking about, and he wanted to! Sadly, he knew it wasn't the time to be asking questions.

They were halted as Old Man Stein let out a curse as he stared into the distance.

"Looks like we're going to make a detour," their elderly neighbour said abruptly changing direction. "There's no way I can take _that_ on alone."

The eel-like demon

Negi hazarded a look at what had spooked the powerful wizard so much. It was a rather bizarre looking eel-like demon that had a long tubular body with a flared tail at the end. Two fins were near the head with another set further back along its back. It had a lamprey-like mouth that opened and closed as it breathed, showing off its many serrated teeth each time. Even scarier was how it was surrounded by dozens of Negi's neighbors walking around like zombies.

 _Yeah, I can see why it would be a bad idea trying to fight that thing._ Negi thought distractedly as their little group ran in the complete opposite direction from the mind controlling demon.

They were about halfway back across the village when they _finally_ ran into more friendly faces.

"Negi!" Anya cried out as she gestured at them from across the street they were crossing.

"Stein, you got the Springfields out? Good." Mr. Cocolova said by way of greeting even as he and his wife eyed their surroundings warily.

"Yes, I did." Mr. Stein said as he too watched out for an ambush. "Now let's get the hell out of here before the demons track us down."

"We need to give the children a breather," Mrs. Cocolova insisted. "Negi looks like he's about to pass out."

He felt it too. Running around the village with little to no sleep was tiring him out. Sure, the adrenaline rush from being in a life or death situation had helped but that had run out ages ago. As it was, Negi was running on fumes. From the way Nekane was panting, she wasn't much better. Even Anya look a little winded, though she was better off than the two Springfields somehow.

"Alright, but a couple minutes. No more." Mr. Stein insisted. "We can't afford- Oh shit!"

The cause for the elderly mage's curse quickly became apparent as a demon that looked like a floating head with a single massive gaping maw and a single cyclops-like eye surrounded by ten smaller eye stalks floated menacingly towards them. The smaller eyes glowing with an icky green as they fired beams of magic in different directions as it laid waste to people and the homes of the villagers all whilst its main eye glared at them with sinister intent.

Beholder

"A Beholder!?" Nekane gasped. "How? They're top tier demons!"

If anyone replied to her shocked question it was drowned out by the sudden piercing scream of displaced air as the demon fired a powerful green beam from its central eye. Fortunately, the Cocolovas reacted in a time and created a barrier together that blocked the attack. It strained under the power though and cracks increasingly spread across it as the seconds ticked by. Thankfully, it held out long enough and shattered only _after_ the beam itself cut off.

Looking at the molten trail between the demon and the Cocolovas that the beam had left in its wake, Negi swallowed hard.

 _That thing would have vaporised us._ The little boy realized, his face paling at the realization of how close he had come to death once more.

"Get going you lot," Mr. Cocolova said as he breathed heavily from his previous exertion. "We'll handle this."

"Take Anya with you." Mrs. Cocolova urged, pushing her daughter towards Mr. Stein. "Keep her safe!"

"No! Mum, Dad, come with us!" Anya cried out as she ran back towards her parents.

While this was happening the demon just floated there glaring at them. It had however stopped firing at other targets with its lesser eyes and moving his eye stalks to face them, had brought its full weaponry to bear against them.

"It's recharging." Nekane breathed in realization. "Mr. Stein!"

"Stein!" Anya's father shouted at the same time. "Take the children and go! Now!"

"I know!" The elderly mage shouted even as he literally picked up a struggling Anya and burst into a run with the Springfields following after him. All while narrow beams of demonic magic shot all around them, leaving destruction wherever they touched.

"No, go back! Go back!" Anya wailed as tears streamed down her face.

"Not on my life!" Mr. Stein shouted back even as their surroundings were suffused green by the demon firing off another beam out of its main eye. "Your parents are risking their lives to keep _you_ safe, little girl. I'm not wasting their sacrifice!"

Anya's wails faded in the background as Negi heard explosions and screams all around him. His heart pounded in his ribcage as his tiny hand squeezed Nekane's as tightly as he could. He was so scared and yet only one thought came to mind.

 _Is this my fault?_ He thought. He had wanted something to happen, he wanted something that would cause his Father to come and save him. Just _him_ though, not… not like this. His eyes stung with tears as guilt struck him.

"Oh shit! Another apocalypse-class demon!?" Mr. Stein cursed, as he spotted something ahead. "The Mage has really gone all out hasn't it?"

The great serpentine demon

"Hide, quick." Nekane hissed as they pulled back into a nearby alleyway. Along the road ahead was a great serpentine demon, with a long narrow crocodilian head and a whole lot of legs. More horrifying was the way the demon was snacking, there was no other way to describe it, on the corpse it held in its front pair of limbs.

Negi almost screamed at the sight and Anya definitely did, but thankfully Nekane and Mr. Stein had covered their mouths thus muffling their cries. Preoccupied with its meal and with nothing to tip it off to their presence, the monster lazily walked on by.

"T-That was Mr. Roberts," Anya said in a tearful whisper once Mr. Stein moved his hand away once the monster had disappeared. "It was eating Mr. Roberts!"

"Don't think about it, child." Old Man Stein whispered to the girl. "Just focus on livin'."

"F **o** U _n_ d **y** A!" A screechy voice said from above them. " **I** _ **fo**_ un _ **d so**_ _M_ _ **e**_ m _ **orE hU**_ man _ **s! Yi**_ p _ **pEE! It**_ 's di _ **NNer Ti**_ me _ **!"**_

Looking up the bedraggled group of survivors found themselves confronted by a flying demon that looked like nothing more than an overgrown chicken.

"Not if I can help it! _Flans Carcer Venti Vertentis_ (Flowering Whirling Prison of Wind)!" Nekane incanted, conjuring a tornado that trapped the chicken demon in a cage of raging winds. "Mr. Stein! Kill it!"

"Gladly lass! _Lapis Inspiratione_ (Stone Blast)!" The older mage said with a smirk as with a gesture of his staff he sent a salvo of decent sized chunks of rock at the airborne demon.

The squelching sound of the creature's head caving to the stone was so sickening to hear that Negi hid behind Nekane to escape looking at what it meant. His fingers tightened around her dress as she panted and shook from using so much magic to defend them.

"Let's get going before more of its ilk find us," Mr. Stein said not even flinching, like everyone else did, as the demon's blood and gore fell down on them.

Despite having just been showered in gore, everyone nodded, even Anya, and the group continued their escape from the remains of their village.

* * *

The rest of their run out of the village was tense but thankfully without another encounter with the attacking demons, the invaders having concentrated in the town center were thinly spread at the edges of town.

This was a small comfort for all of them.

Nekane looked like a mess. She was winded and her grip on her wand was so tight that she was drawing blood. The nightgown she was wearing, there having been no time to change when they rushed out of their cottage, was torn all over the place and covered in dirt the origin of which Negi didn't want to think about. She looked nothing like the calm big sister figure that he knew and loved, instead she was the picture of a fierce lioness willing to do anything to protect her cub. It was a sight that at once warmed and broke Negi's heart, for she was doing this all for _him_.

Anya was sniffling and her tears ran freely as she clung close to his cousin as Old Man Stein took point for the group. She was utterly devastated, Negi could tell, by her parents' unknown fate. Despite that she managed to keep going, occasionally muttering under her breath about how her parents wanted her to get out of there and how she couldn't disappoint them. Negi envied her resolve.

Mr. Stein was the only one looking remotely put together, but even he was looking strained as the night of exertion wore on him. His breathing was increasingly labored and he was moving ever more slowly. It was clear that he was very near to his breaking point, but yet he soldiered on.

Negi himself was feeling utterly ragged. He was tired. Not just physically but emotionally too. He had run harder in the past hour or so than he ever had in his life and seen more death than most veteran soldiers did in their lives. Worse though was the festering guilt that he felt for seemingly having brought this disaster down on the village in the first place.

His piling guilt was halted as a bright flash of light flared behind them.

Nekane and Mr. Stein were the first to react, whirling around with shields coming to life as they looked to see what was the source. Negi turned to see a bat winged demon hovering over the town next to the man with the butterflies. The demon's head was cartoonishly round and had a pair of twisted horns growing out of his head. It had a whimsical looking mouth that was opened in a wicked grin that revealed that it was filled with square shaped teeth.

"W-What is that?" Nekane gasped, terrified by the new demon's mere presence. Something both Anya and Negi could empathise as they both quivered in fear at its visage.

"Whatever it is, I'll handle it." Old Man Stein said bravely as he stepped between them and the demon.

"You can't take it on alone," Nekane said with a nervous gulp and stepping forward to stand at his side. "I'll help you."

Old Man Stein grunted in annoyance but said nothing.

Perhaps noticing their conversation, the demon turned towards them and after tilting its head in a strange almost humorous manner for a moment straightened itself and began casually drifting towards them.

"S _agitta Magica, Aer Capturae_ (Magic Arrows, Capturing Wind)!" Nekane shouted as she sent a barrage of wind arrows forth to bind the demon.

" _Lapis Inspiratione_ (Stone Blast)!" Mr. Stein incanted a step behind, launching a barrage of stone.

The demon didn't even bother to evade the spells sent hurtling its way, instead allowing the spiraling winds of Nekane's magic arrows to encase it in chains of twisting air and hold it in place for the rocky chunks of Mr. Stein's spell to slam into its body. Though it quickly showed _why_ it had been unbothered by the spells.

As the cloud of rock dust created by the pulverised stone of Mr. Stein's spell settled, the group was horrified to discover the demon hovering there unscathed.

Old Man Stein let out a growl of annoyance as he tightened the grip on his staff just a bit more and slammed it in the ground while chanting swiftly.

Sadly, whatever spell he was working on, he wasn't able to get it off in time. For the demon was faster as it opened its mouth and a white light began gathering in its gaping maw.

"Shit!" The older man shouted, as abandoning his spellcasting he threw his body over the children to shield them. Nekane followed his example and did the same, her arms bound tightly around Negi as they were blinded by the unholy light.

A soul splitting cry of pain in Nekane's usually sweet voice had Negi zeroing in on his cousin. The sight that greeted him shook him to his very core. Half of Nekane's body was petrified! The only parts which weren't were those that Mr. Stein, now little more than a stone statue, had covered with his own body.

"N-Negi, A-Anya," Nekane gasped out painfully from what must have been half petrified lungs, the left side of her chest having been turned to stone. "R-run."

His young heart twisted at the sight as his body trembled in fright while next to him Anya collapsed to her knees, looking horrified and screamed.

"R-run!" Nekane repeated, pushing them both weakly with her still mobile right arm.

Anya remained frozen but Negi, somehow, gathered enough courage through his fear to jump to his feet and drag his childhood friend to her feet with him and turn to run. Unfortunately for them, this just brought them face to face with the demon responsible for petrifying their protectors. A demon who was sporting a macabre grin full of malice as it gazed at them hungrily.

"FATHER!" He wailed, pleading, _begging_ for his hero to save him as tears ran down his face.

A gust of wind whipped around them as suddenly the demon was sent flying into the air in an uncontrolled tumble and was replaced by a tall man, one with hair much like his own who had his arm in raised in a punching motion. From the hooded robe he was wearing he was clearly the one overseeing the attack, but then why was he helping them now? Who was he?

Negi got no answers as the man started ranting.

"Think you can get away with messing up my hometown, huh?! Take a blasted hike, ya bums!" The man roared thunderously.

The demon was unintimidated though and quickly managed to level off its flight before cocking its head in confusion at the man before shrugging and opening its mouth to shoot its petrifying light once more.

"Tch, stay down you pissant. I've got no time for small fries." The man dismissed the demon. He blinked out of sight before reappearing with his fist slamming into the demon's head, snapping its jaw shut in the process.

"And keep that pie hole closed, it smells like garbage anyway." The man mocked even as electricity arced around him before shooting out from his fist like a deadly lance, frying the demon into a cinder in a instant and sending its soul screaming back to whence it came.

"Well that takes care of _that_ asshole," the robed man said with a satisfied grin. "Time to clean out the rest too."

As he spoke wind and sparks danced around him and picked up in intensity as he began to mutter an inaudible chant under his breath. At the completion of his spell moments later, a rain of smaller lightning bolts descended from the sky to destroy the many demons that were still prowling the village.

The casual display of such power brought hope and awe to Negi's already tired body.

"Nekane!" Anya screamed now that the threat was gone and she'd regathered her wits enough to not be a screaming wreck. "Are you okay?"

Negi however was captivated by their savior.

"Yo, Negi," the man said turning to properly face Negi and finally giving the boy a good look at his face. "I'm sorry."

Negi gasped. He recognized that face! It was his FATHER!

"You came to save me after all." The young boy said in a shocked whisper. He just couldn't believe his long held dream had _finally_ come true.

"Yeah, but not for long. I won't be able to hold _it_ off for much longer."

"Father, what do you mean?"

"No time," Father said as he bit his lip. "It's almost regained control. Before it does, I have something that I want to tell you my son."

"W-What is it?"

"I'm sorry for not getting here sooner. Negi, I know I have no right to say this, but… live a happy life. Alright?"

Negi just nodded.

Seeing this his father smiled and Negi smiled back, happy beyond words that he'd managed to share this moment with his parent.

This happy moment was shattered though as Father suddenly clutched his head and grunted in pain. Negi gasped and reached out to do something, anything but Father pushed his staff forward.

"T-Take it, Negi." The elder Springfield urged. "H-hurr-"

Father's words were cut off as he instead let out a guttural cry and dropped the staff. Again Negi panicked and tried to reach out to help his father, but the older man turned to jump away before suddenly freezing mid motion. He stood still for a few breaths before his previously pained posture straightened and he suddenly turned back around now suddenly surrounded by a swarm of butterflies that seemed to have materialized from out of nowhere.

Negi suddenly got the feeling he _wasn't_ facing his Father anymore.

"Oh? So you can sense the difference, child? Impressive."

"Who are you?"

"You're nowhere near worthy of hearing my name, boy." The _thing_ possessing his Father said. "But grow stronger and someday you might. Perhaps you might even manage to free your father from my control."

Anger bubbled up inside of Negi and he glared up at the mean man who was taking his Father away from him.

"I-I'll stop you!" Negi shouted, waving his star training wand at the him, only for tiny harmless sparks to burst out of the tip. Hot tears rolled down his face as his father's captor just laughed mockingly at his attempt.

"Or perhaps not," the _thing_ said. "Either way, I'll let you live for now on the off chance you just _might_ exceed my expectations."

Negi felt as though he had ash in his mouth as the _thing_ transformed into particles of light and teleported away leaving Negi, Anya and the partially petrified Nekane on that snowy hill, their once peaceful town burning sorrowfully behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> Man, talk about a heartbreaker right there! Why do the good ones have such tear jerking childhoods? Why must the good die young?! Or suffer young...idk, plot?
> 
> Nameless: What an epic little chapter this was! We managed to turn what was already a harrowing experience in canon for Negi into something so much worse. I think we really outdid ourselves. To be honest, while I found the canon attack on the village traumatic for Negi I couldn't really accept why it was so mild. I mean if you're going to attack it and wipe it out, which by all accounts was the goal, why hold back and just petrify everyone? Why not send in multiple heavy hitting demons and go all out? It's this line of thinking that had us pull out the stops and make the attack into the massacre that canon implied it was but never really made it into.
> 
> Plus, all them D&D-like monsters, ah, my DM soul is sated...now maybe I won't kill my players this coming session...nah. I'm too evil not to. Still, I liked all the little changes we made, as canon was a head scratcher on the damn reason why sending the attack even happened in the first place. Arika went into exile and was pronounced dead! Like, seriously.
> 
> Nameless: Exactly! If you wanted to wipe out her line and its supporters, the bulk of which apparently stupidly clustered in one town, to prevent the political revival of the Ostian kingdom then don't be half-assed about it! Sigh. Shounen mangaka and their lack of understanding of how politics work.
> 
> And the star of the chapter of course was Old Man mother-fuckin' Stein. Man, we love making one shot guys into utter badasses. I think it's a calling by this point.
> 
> Nameless: The man deserves a medal or a statue. Would it be wrong to use his actual petrified body as his memorial statue? XD
> 
> Just a tiny bit.
> 
> Well, you know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what ya love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	5. Old Friendships Renewed

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Five: Old Friendships Renewed**

**Beta:**

* * *

Years after the tragedy that had engulfed his hometown, Negi Springfield found himself walking the halls of Mahora Junior High School. At ten years old, one would assume he was a student however the well dressed young man was in fact there as a newbie teacher. Having graduated from Magic School just last year, he had been assigned to become a teacher in Japan as part of his training to become a full fledged mage, a Magister Magi. In line with that, the Magic School and his guardian/sister/cousin Nekane had pulled some strings and gotten him a position as an English teacher at the all girls junior high branch of the prestigious Mahora Academy.

"So part of your duties will involve being the homeroom teacher to 2-A. You ready for that?" Takamichi T. Takahata, one of Negi's father's old friends and longtime friend of the family, asked as they walked side by side through the school's halls towards the aforementioned class' homeroom.

Takamichi was like Negi himself dressed in a suit and tie, but unlike the young Welsh boy as a grown man he carried the outfit a lot better. Something helped along by what even Negi had to admit was his rugged good looks. With his salt and pepper beard, slicked back hair and confidence carriage, Takamichi looked every bit the war hero that Negi knew him to be. In fact, the older man was someone that Negi saw as one of his greatest role models.

"I'm sure I'll be able to cope." Negi reassured his friend. He might only be ten years old but he was confident that after all the training he'd undergone to get the teaching license he'd needed to pursue this part of his mage training that he'd manage to handle a class.

"You say that now," Takamichi said with a teasing smirk. "We'll see what you have to say in a week or two."

"You make them sound like trouble," Negi said, starting to feel a hint of nerves. He trusted Takamichi's judgement and if the man was warning him to be careful… He'd better listen.

Seeing that he'd perhaps laid it on too thick, Takamichi quickly backtracked. "Sorry, I was just teasing. 2-A isn't _that_ bad. I was their homeroom teacher last year and I can say that they're all good girls. A little rambunctious but they're ultimately a bunch of good kids."

_Rambunctious!? That sounds kinda ominous to be honest…_ Negi thought as he gulped nervously.

"Relax, Negi," Takamichi said, trying once more to be reassuring. "It won't be that bad. I tell you what, I don't have it on me at the moment but I'll fish out my old class roster from last year and hand it to you, okay? I scribbled all kinds of helpful info on the girls on there, I'm sure giving it a read will be a big help."

"Thanks Takamichi," Negi offered sincerely. "I'm sure it'll be a great help."

_Now I'll just need to survive today without it…_ Negi added to himself, while biting his lip nervously.

Apparently seeing that he was doing more harm than good, Takamichi decided to change the topic.

"So, uh, how's that one spell you've been working on? It's been years, perfected it yet?"

"Not yet," Negi confessed, gnawing on his bottom lip.

"Well, don't get obsessed with it." The older man said with a frown. "It'll be especially bad now that you're a teacher. You'll be busy enough as is. Letting what little free time you'll have get sucked up by working on it will burn you out."

"I know," the young mage in training nodded. "I'll be careful."

Takamichi didn't look fully convinced but he let the matter go. Though that might have more to do with the fact that they were fast approaching the 2-A homeroom, outside of which was standing two women. One was a student as indicated by her age and uniform. She had long black hair secured with a hair tie. The other was a voluptuous blonde woman who Negi had been introduced to previously as Shizuna Minamoto, Mahora Academy's head guidance counselor and nurse.

"Yo Shizuna-san," Takamichi greeted with a casual wave that made him look _so_ cool.

"Hello Ms. Shizuna," Negi greeted as well, bowing in the process.

"Hello Takamichi-sensei, Negi-sensei," Shizuna-san returned with a warm smile.

Taking the hint as to their names, the student quickly greeted the two men though she boggled a little at the idea that Negi was a teacher.

_I'm gonna get that a lot._ The Welshman thought with a wry grin.

"So who's the new student?" Takamichi asked with a nod to the girl.

"I-I'm Kuonji Ukyo, I just transferred. Please look after me!" The young girl asked with a bow.

"A-A pleasure to meet you as well!" Negi said, bowing back at her.

"Do try to be more confident than that later when you introduce yourself to the class, alright dear?" Shizuna-san told the girl gently. "You as well, Negi-sensei."

"Yeah, 2-A are like sharks and blood when it comes to weakness," Takamichi said with a teasing grin.

"Takamichi-sensei!" Shizuna-san chided with a barely concealed smile. "Don't go scaring them."

"Just having a little fun here," the older teacher said defensively even as he sported an amused look though he quickly smothered it and looked to the two new arrivals to the Academy seriously. "All said, do try to be less nervous. Both of you. Being confident, or at least acting like it will help loads."

"I'll try," Negi said as he straightened his posture in a bid to look as composed as he could manage.

"Me too," Kuonji-san said much more confidently.

"Good," Takamichi said with a pleased grin. "Then I'll go in and start the show. Hang out here until I call you two in, alright?"

"Yes, Takamichi-san/Sensei," Negi and Kuonji-san said in unison.

This earned them amused grins from the two adults, even as Takamichi walked past them and opened the door to the classroom beyond and the future that awaited them both.

* * *

Seated in her place in her homeroom, Ranma propped her elbows on the table in front of her, carded her hands together and rested her head on top of the little cradle her hands created. It was just before first period in her last semester of the Second Year at Junior High and while the cursed redhead waited for school to start, she was taking the time to reflect on the year and a half that she'd been in Mahora so far.

Not to brag, but in her opinion things had gone swimmingly. Not only had she continued to maintain her stellar grades, even if she had no way of matching the insane standards that her class' resident academic geniuses achieved, but her magical studies were also progressing by leaps and bounds. Helped along by the resources that the school's hidden magical side had to offer. She'd learned loads from the other mages in the Academy and then there was the Library Island. This was the Academy's labyrinthine library that lived up to its name by being a whole island converted into a single massive library, and it was a treasure trove of magical lore for those inclined to look. With Haruna being a member of the Library Exploration Club, whose goal was to map the massive structure and fully catalogue its seemingly endless books, they'd managed to unearth quite a few gems from the Island's hidden depths.

Speaking of Haruna, her sister had settled into Mahora wonderfully as well. Not only had she found a club activity that she enjoyed in the Library Exploration Club, she'd also made many new bosom friends such as her fellow club members Miyazaki Nodoka and Ayase Yue. The three were so close that Ranma sometimes felt left out, not through any fault of theirs mind you but because she just wasn't on the same wavelength as them for the most part and unlike Haruna, she didn't enjoy the luxury of being in the same club to provide something for them to talk about. Not that Ranma begrudged her sister's burgeoning social life, okay maybe a little. After all, she was still pretty much friendless. With how anti-social she was thanks to spending all her free time on her magical research and training, it wasn't surprising but it was still a little sad.

_Maybe my luck with making friends will change this term?_ Ranma thought with an amused little grin, before she shook her head and looked down. _Ha! Like that'll happen._

The teenager trapped in a ten-year old's body was pulled from her thoughts when she heard noises from outside the classroom's front door. She might not consider herself a martial artist anymore, but finely honed senses developed over years of training didn't disappear overnight especially not when they were further honed towards assisting her in achieving her new goal of becoming a great mage.

Peering towards the door, Ranma couldn't help but roll her eyes at the juvenile traps laid about by her classmates, the Narutaki twins. Then again, the twins were nothing if not immature. Especially when they would try to rope her into their schemes on the notion that 'small girls' needed to stick together. The hellions.

At least Kaede kept them in line most of the time. If she didn't… Well, Ranma might have discretely hit them with a little mild poison spells to give them the runs the few times Kaede hadn't been around to rein them in. Nobody messed with her research time, especially not a pair of wouldbe ninjas.

"So, what do think of the idea of a new sensei?" Haruna whispered to her, excitement clear in her eyes.

"It's okay I guess. I just don't see what has everyone else so excited." Ranma replied, her eyes glancing to the red haired twin tail, Asuna, "Except Asuna-san though, she looks like she's ready to tear her hair out."

Haruna snickered, trying her best -And failing- to stifle her giggles, "I heard her clothes got ruined in broad daylight with Takahata-sensei standing right there!"

Oh, oh that was just plain bad luck for Asuna.

"Haruna, please tell me that's not what you're sketching right now." Ranma said in a resigned voice as she saw her sister rapidly scribbling in her drawing pad.

"You want me to lie, Onee-chan?" Haruna said looking at Ranma owlishly.

The older Saotome girl just facepalmed and sighed. "I really should have stopped you from signing up with that publishing house. Nowadays it's like you can't stop sketching something, anything, all the time."

"Hey, a girl's gotta earn pocket change somehow," her green haired foster sister replied with a cheeky grin. "Not all of us can live off cup ramen."

"Hey," Ranma said defensively. "Don't diss cup ramen. It's cheap and tasty. What's not to love?"

"That it's unhealthy? I know you need to save as much of your allowance as you can to afford your research material, Onee-chan, but eating nothing else just isn't good for you." Haruna said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, if Mama finds out I'm betting she'll be on the next train here just to scold you."

Ranma shuddered at the very real prospect of her Obaa-san doing just that.

Much to the redhead's relief, the door to the classroom finally opened and triggered the twins' little trap. The chalk dust laden duster falling towards the ground and… hitting nothing but the floor. Striding quickly, thanks to what Ranma could tell was a little discrete magic, Takahata-sensei had managed to walk past the danger zone created by the duster and the dust cloud it created upon impact entirely.

"Narutaki-san," the stern art teacher addressed the two pranksters without missing a beat as he walked towards the teacher's desk. "Clean that up."

"Yes sir," the two pink haired miscreants squeaked out even as they rushed to obey, pouting all the while.

"Now then 2-A," Takahata-sensei said addressing the whole class. "As you might be aware, I've stepped down as your homeroom teacher and this role has been taken up by a new teacher. He is new not only to you, but to Mahora and even teaching in general, so ladies I want you to do your best to make him welcome. Is that clear?"

This was met with a clear choral affirmative from the class that left Takahata-sensei nodding in satisfaction.

"Then without further ado, I would like to introduce to you your new English and homeroom teacher, Negi-sensei."

Taking this as his cue, a young red haired boy in a suit quite obviously tailored to fit his frame strode confidently into class. He stopped a moment to look in confusion at the Narutaki twins cleaning up the mess they'd created but Takahata-sensei gestured for him to ignore them and he grudgingly walked pass them to join the older man at the teacher's desk.

"Hello everyone, I'm Negi Springfield. You can call me Negi-sensei and I'll be your English and homeroom teacher from now onwards," the clearly foreign child said as he offered the class a bow.

He continued with his introduction, explaining that he was indeed a child being only ten years old but that despite that had completed both his studies and earned his teaching license.

_And if the traces of magic on him are any indication, he's also a mage. Though even then a ten year old teaching? I guess we've got stranger things at Mahora. Maybe it's part of his post-graduation assignment from Magic School? I read that European magical schools tend to send their graduates on assignments before conferring them the title of Magister Magi._

The new teacher explained a few more things, but none of them really caught Ranma's attention so she tuned him out instead focusing on the puzzle of why Takahata-sensei was still there. With Negi-sensei already there, shouldn't he handover the reins to him and leave? Then again Ranma wasn't complaining, she'd bet that if he left now the class would descend on Negi-sensei like a pack of ravenous wolves and attempt to cuddle him to death. He was just that adorable and most of the class just that insane.

"Alright, that's enough questions for Negi-sensei for now," Takahata-sensei stepped in when the class' questioning of their new homeroom teacher had dragged on for a little too long. "Besides Negi-sensei, we're also welcoming someone else to 2-A today. A new student. Kuonji-san, you can come in now."

Everyone perked up at the news, a new sensei and student? That was unique.

_Though I suppose this is due to administrative convenience as a result of it being the start of the school's Second Semester? I mean having them both come in now would be a lot less disruptive wouldn't it?_ Ranma mused, even as the name Kuonji tickled something in her memories. _It can't be him can it?_

A brunette walked into the room, wearing the standard Mahora Junior High uniform like the rest of them. She stood next to the podium and gave a polite bow.

"Hello everyone, I'm Kuonji Ukyo. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Ranma was floored. The name matched and the looks did too, if you added on half a decade worth of growth. This was the same person that once, years ago, Ranma had once called her best friend.

_Ucchan? She's a girl too!?_

* * *

Much to Ranma's annoyance, she was unable to catch Kuonji-san to question her during recess. Thanks in no small part to the rest of their classmates swarming the transfer student as they eagerly tried to get to know her.

_I know they were just being friendly, but couldn't they have given me a chance?_ Ranma thought irritably as she walked to her dorms alone after fruitlessly searching the school building for the other girl.

"Saotome-san! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A voice shouted as Ranma walked through the park that surrounded the Junior High dorms.

Turning, she was surprised to find the object of her search running over to her.

"Kuonji-san, you were looking for me?" Ranma blinked in confusion.

"Yes, I was searching all around the dorms after I finally got away from the others."

Ranma shook her head. She'd seen their classmates drag Kuonji-san off for questioning at the end of class but had assumed they'd dragged her off somewhere nearby. That's why she'd searched the school building. In contrast, the other girl, who seemed to be searching for her in turn, had probably presumed she'd headed home and focused her search in the dorm area.

"I was actually looking for you too." Ranma explained. "Mind if we talk?"

"That would be great!" Kuonji-san said. "I found this nice spot while searching the park, why don't we talk there?"

"Lead the way."

Kuonji-san's spot turned out to be a pretty little gazebo in a secluded part of the park. It was quite private, as suited the type of conversation that Ranma envisioned they were about to have. They both sat down and after getting comfortable, the brunette dived head first into the fray.

"Um, you _are_ Saotome Ranma, correct? 'Son' of Genma Saotome?"

"Don't mention his name!" Ranma hissed angrily, causing Kuonji-san to recoil. Seeing this, Ranma took a moment to calm herself before continuing. "But, yes, that is the name of my sperm donor."

"Oh, I, I'm sorry." Kuonji-san muttered uneasily before clearing her throat and continuing in a steadier voice, "I-It's been a while since I last saw you, Saotome-san."

"I take it that you're really Ucchan then?" Ranma asked hopefully. She'd had the whole school day to think about it and she was honestly excited about the prospect of reconnecting with her childhood friend.

_Maybe I'll finally have a friend again._

Not that Haruna wasn't great company, but being friendless left her lonely at times especially when her sister was off having fun with _her friends_ while Ranma was left all alone.

"Yup, that's me Ranchan." Kuonji-san replied with a smile. "I can still call you that, right?"

"I did call you Ucchan just now, so sure."

"Hehe, then I guess we need to celebrate meeting up again, right?"

Ranma beamed at that, "Sure! There should be plenty of places to go to. The campus has a lot of restaurants and food stands."

"Great! I hope they meet my standards though." Ucchan said, a teasing tone in her voice. "But before we go, I think maybe we should catch up first? I'm thinking some of what we have to talk about is private."

Ranma nodded. "Mind if I go first then?"

"Sure," Ucchan acquienced easily enough.

"So, um, can I ask what happened after I and _that man_ left?" Ranma asked delicately, knowing the disaster her sperm donor probably left in his wake.

"Well, I dunno if you know but before you two left that tub of lard actually signed a contract with my Tou-san to betroth the two of us together. He even managed to get Tou-san to offer our family's okonomiyaki cart as a dowry."

"Which he promptly sold for cash the moment we were out of town." Ranma informed her old friend, her blood boiling at what Genma had done.

"We suspected as much," Ucchan continued with a small frown. "You see, not long after you two disappeared my Tou-san started researching your, um, sperm donor, to hunt him down and get revenge and all that. But that all changed when he figured out about _you_."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, during his research, he found a copy of your birth certificate and it clearly indicated you were a girl. From there, well, he pieced together that your sperm donor was attempting, somehow, to turn you into a boy. All while preparing for that by tricking you into thinking you were a boy all along."

"That's a bit of a leap in logic." Ranma couldn't help but point out.

"Well, it wasn't like he just figured it out. Finding your birth certificate just lit up alarm bells. After that, he went around Japan tracking your movements and talking to people you met. Between all that, he kinda pieced it together. Especially after we found out how he kept asking around about ways to change a person's sex. _That_ was a dead giveaway."

"How the hell did your father manage all that?"

"Well, we still do practise our ninja arts and that includes investigating things. Besides Tou-san had help from the rest of the clan too, and a couple of them are actual detectives."

"Okay, that makes sense." Ranma conceded. She wasn't fully convinced but she had to admit that if the Kuonji clan maintained at least some of the skill at espionage that their shinobi ancestors did then it was at least plausible.

"Anyways, like I was saying, after Tou-san figured out what your sperm donor was doing to you we've been hunting across Japan trying to find and save you."

Raising a brow at that, Ranma said, "I've already been saved though."

Ucchan giggled, "I can see that. I'll have to call up Tou-san later to tell him. Actually, we heard you were adopted a couple months ago, but we weren't sure it was you so I decided to come to Mahora to make sure."

"Uh, thanks for the concern?" Ranma replied uncertainly.

"You're welcome." Ucchan replied while winking mischievously. "Of course, this also doubled as good motivation for me to study hard to get into the elite Mahora Academy too, so I wasn't _entirely_ being selfless."

"That's fine," Ranma said with a chuckle. "Heck, I'd be a little worried if you were so obsessed as to follow me to Mahora just to check up on me. It would be a little stalkerish."

"I know right," Ukyo said chuckling as well. "I mean, you're cute, but not my type."

It was hard to tell if she was teasing or not.

"Okay, that's all the sensitive stuff I hope, 'cause I'm starving." Ranma said as she got to her feet.

"You still haven't told me what happened to you, but that can wait." Ucchan conceded as she too stood up. "Let's go grab dinner."

Smiling in agreement, the two friends were just stepping out of the gazebo when they were rudely interrupted. Out of nowhere a black haired teenager with a yellow and black speckled bandana around his head, dressed in a yellow tunic, black trousers, who had a ridiculously overstuffed backpack and was carrying a umbrella around like it was a bludgeon jumped down from one of the nearby trees to land right in front of the two girls.

"Saotome Ranma, fight me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> Oh Negi, you have stepped into the lion's den once again. Guard your loins from the cradle robbers! Anyway, it's always nice to write Negi, poor awkward Negi, lolz.
> 
> Nameless: So we changed up the introduction scene. That was kinda a necessity, since if we let canon run its course then Ukyo wouldn't have a chance to give an introduction before 2-A descended into anarchy. Besides, Takamichi would know that might happen and thus would stay to ensure it didn't.
> 
> Yep! And it's nice to have Ukyo on the scene. At least Ranma's got a friend now. Seriously, she started to sound like Amy Dallon without the siscest. Or is that Haruna WITH siscest. Hard to tell.
> 
> Nameless: So Ranma has been reunited with Ukyo and unlike Ranma canon it skips a lot of the initial conflict and jumps straight back into a rekindled friendship. To facilitate this we had the Kunoji clan actually do the ninja thing (and they are descended from ninja just look at Ukyo's skillset) and actually research the target of their revenge discovering Ranma's secret along the way. Considering Ukyo was close enough to Ranma for her father to approach Genma for a betrothal and even going so far as to bribe him with a dowry to seal the deal, it stands to reason that discovering Ranma was a victim too he'd shift gears and seek to rescue his daughter's friend. This line of logic gave E4E conniptions and I don't think he's totally sold even now, so target any ire towards it squarely at me, capiche?
> 
> And in classic Ranma ½ fashion, Ryuga enters the scene. Good ol' Ryuga.
> 
> Nameless: And we even gave you a cliffhanger with his iconic line. Aren't we nice?
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	6. War and Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Six: War and Love**

**Beta:**

* * *

"Saotome Ranma, fight me!" The strange boy roared, leveling his umbrella at Ranma threateningly.

Ukyo tensed at this, carefully palming a brace of her spatula shuriken and mentally cursing the fact that she didn't have her battle spatula on hand. In stark contrast, Ranchan just gave a long suffering sigh.

"What the hell is your problem, Ryouga?" The petite redhead said with a tired shake of her head. "This is the third time this year that you've shown up out of nowhere demanding a fight. Shoo, go away before I call security."

"You don't know? You ruined my life Ranma!" The strange boy ranted.

"How the hell did I do that!?" Ranma shouted in exasperation. "You've never explained what you mean! Can you be less confusing?!"

"Shut up! You should know!" Hibiki shouted back, before an explosion of flour blinded him.

"Ranchan, I don't know what's going on but we need to get out of here," Ukyo said urgently as she tugged her friend into a jog.

"I think he's a stalker with some issue with me. Which I honestly don't know anything about." Ranchan replied as she easily kept pace while fumbling to pull out her phone. "Right, now security… Where's the contact for campus security. Ah! There it is."

Before, Ranchan could hit dial though, a bandana flew through the air and knocked the phone right out of her hands. It landed with a crack and the redhead's eyes widened.

"Not so fast!" Ryoga said, coughing a little.

"That was expensive, you jerk!" Ranchan shouted as she pulled out of Ukyo's hold and run over to pick up her ruined phone. "It'll cost me at least two months worth of research material to save up money to get it replaced! Now I am _pissed_!"

"Good," the boy said as he slammed his umbrella in front of him and somehow causing a crater with the impact. "Then you'll fight me at last?"

"Oh, I'll fight you alright," Ranchan said as a magic circle appeared next to her right hand from which she pulled out a crossbow of all things. "I'm gonna _own_ your ass."

"Uh, Ranchan, is that a good idea?" Ukyo asked nervously. For someone who seemed determined to avoid a fight a moment ago, Ranchan sure looked hyped up for one now. Was the phone that important to her?

"You bet it is." The redhead said, leveling her weapon at the boy. "That phone was a gift from my sister! And thanks to getting it replaced I'll have my research set back by months! Both of those are unforgivable offences! _Equus Calcitrant_ (Horse Kick)!"

At her incantation, her crossbow fired off a magical arrow straight at the Hibiki boy which he proceeded to attempt to deflect with his umbrella. Despite the seemingly insane weight of his strange weapon and his successful deflection, the spell still sent him stumbling back like he'd been hit by a charging rhino.

_Or more accurately kicked by a wild horse._ Ukyo thought with an amused grin.

Even though Hibiki was sent skidding back from the force of the arrow, he nevertheless kept his footing. Which was something that Ukyo grudgingly found to be quite impressive.

"Nice try! It'll take more than that to take me down!"

"Rapid Fire: _Equus Calcitrant_ (Horse Kick)." Ranma growled as she leveled her crossbow at him once more and unleashed a high speed barrage of her magic arrows. So many of them were flying that Ukyo honestly lost count of how many of them were in the air.

A problem that Hibiki didn't seem to have as he intercepted every last one of them with what appeared to be an infinite supply of his bandana which he appeared to have enhanced with his ki to make them sturdy enough to be used as proper weapons.

_That must be the Tetsu Nuno (Iron Cloth) technique._ Ukyo noted as she observed the boy. _Though where is he hiding all of those bandanas?! He seems to have an endless number of them!_

" _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura). _Volant_ (Fly)." Ranchan said as it became clear that her barrage wouldn't be able to break through the boy's defense.

Ukyo couldn't tell what either spell did on their own, but working together they seemed to allow Ranchan to fly around Hibiki like an angry hornet while shooting at him from all angles. Unfortunately, the boy proved himself more than a match for this escalation and despite now having to guard himself from attacks from 360 degrees, he still managed a solid defense.

She had to hand it to this Hibiki guy, he was taking what the redhead was giving pretty good.

_Guess that just means that I need to give Ranchan a hand._ Ukyo thought as she threw a number of large ropes made of rubber Yakisoba at the boy.

Predictably the boy sent his bandanas out to lash at her tools, but Ukyo had expected that and with masterful skill combined with a little subtle application of ki wrapped her ropes around the bandanas instead, restraining them.

"Ranchan, now!"

" _Venenum Framea_ (Poison Spear)!" Ranchan cast in an angry snarl as she flew into position overhead and fired a large sickly green looking spear from her crossbow through the opening in Hibiki's defenses.

The boy tried to intercept the spell with a few of his bandanas, but Ukyo just threw a few more of her Yakisoba ropes at them and held them in place, keeping the gap open. Thus the spell struck true against the boy's chest, where it exploded into a cloud of toxic miasma that seemed to settle all over his body.

"Hope you enjoy explosive diarrhea, you ass." Ranchan said maliciously.

"What the hell are-" The boy said before his stomach made a very unpleasant sound. "Oh no! What the hell did you do to me!?"

"Like I said, explosive diarrhea."

The boy opened his mouth to say more, but another gross sound from his gut seemed to change his mind. Instead, he ran off, probably in search of a restroom.

"You heartless monster!" He screamed as he disappeared off into the distance.

Shouldering her crossbow and landing, Ranchan frowned, "He's lucky I didn't do worse."

Ukyo looked at her short friend, "Could you?"

"You don't want to know." Ranchan huffed as a magic circle appeared next to her and she pushed the crossbow back inside of it.

Ukyo couldn't help gulping a little. What exactly could Ranchan do that was worse than explosive diarrhea? Just thinking about it gave her shivers.

"So, um, sorry about this Ucchan," the mage said, looking conflicted as she kept her eyes down. "But I'm gonna have to modify your memories. It's the law that we keep magic a secret."

"Oh, I know. The Magic Associations are pretty strict about that, huh?"

"Wait," Ranchan said, blinking in confusion. "You know about the Magic Associations?"

"Sure," Ukyo said with a shrug. "My family's known magic has existed since the Sengoku Jidai when they were ninja. We fought alongside quite a few Eastern mages back then. We're even still friendly with some of the surviving mage clans."

Ukyo could see happiness spread across her friend's face as she glomped the brunette, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Man, this is great! You have no idea how much this means, Ucchan!"

"I'm taking it that your friends don't know you're a mage?"

"Friends? What friends?" Ranchan let slip, apparently too excited to notice. Ukyo did though and she frowned. Surely her friend had made other friends over the years, right?

"Come on, you're pulling my leg, right? Someone so cute has to have droves of them."

The redhead flushed and looked away.

"Okay, new topic." Ranchan said after a moment. "So you're from a ninja clan?"

Ukyo just nodded.

"Well, that explains the ninja techniques," Ranma said with a nod. "But what's with those ropes you were throwing around? Why do they look like Yakisoba?"

"There wasn't much market for shinobi in the Edo Period so my family diversified, things got kinda strange after that and…"

"Say no more. I've heard a lot of old pre-Edo schools ended up getting kinda strange after the wars of the Sengoku dried up."

"Yeah, a lot of practitioners didn't take the transition to peace well at all." Ukyo commented as the two girls unconsciously began walking back to the dorms, or more specifically its dining hall, together.

"So what's the strangest martials arts or magical schools that you've heard about?" Ranma asked with an excited gleam in her eyes, at _finally_ having someone besides Haruna she could talk to about stuff like this.

"I dunno any weird magic schools, but have you heard about Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics?"

"That's really a thing? No way!"

"It is!" Ukyo insisted. "Apparently it was created by another clan of ninja though more recently than my own, not that I know the reason why."

"Tell me everything about it, maybe we can figure it out."

"Sure!" Ukyo replied happily, as the two friends walked into the dining hall together.

* * *

A few days after he'd taken over the his duties as a teacher at Mahora, Negi found himself running through the halls of the school after an unfortunate incident with a love potion he'd brewed for Asuna-san to make up for ruining her uniform on accident when they'd first met. Unfortunately, but understandably she'd been somewhat mistrustful of his skill as a mage and had decided to test his potion brewing ability out before using it by 'accidentally' spilling it down his throat.

Much to their mutual dismay, this seemed to have the effect of making him suddenly irresistible to any and all members of the fairer sex that he came across while the potion was still active. Except for Asuna-san it seemed. This had in turn led to him being chased through the school by a mob of its magically enamoured students.

"Honestly Haruna, how could you leave _that_ in the classroom!" Negi heard Ranma-san's exasperated voice from around the bend in the corridor and almost came to a stop. He didn't want to get _another_ of his students caught up in this mess. Much less two of them. Enough of them were involved already. But a quick look glance behind him and the mob of girls quickly gaining on him told him that he had no choice.

_Sorry Ranma-san, Haruna-san._

"Hey, I don't complain about your research. Don't judge me for leaving my doodle book behind, Onee-chan."

"Doodle? More like smut."

"Sorry!" Negi shouted as he flew around the corner on his staff.

Both Saotome sisters looked up in shock at his sudden and unconventional arrival, and much to his distress were caught up in the power of the love potion. Well at least Haruna-san was. Ranma-san had just gotten glassy eyed for a moment before with a surge of magic had shaken it off.

_Ranma-san is a mage?!_ Negi thought in surprise. He was so shocked by this revelation that he actually pulled to a stop to stare at the petite redhead.

"Hehehe, Negi-sensei~!" Haruna-san sung out as her fingers wiggled very ominously.

"Haruna, no!" Ranma-san shouted as she quickly reached over and grabbed hold of her sister in a restraining hold.

"I just want to do some H stuff!"

"Haruna he's _ten_! That's illegal!" Ranma-san looked at him, "Run Sensei! I'll hold her off!"

"You can use magic!" Negi replied, shocked that one of his students was a mage like him.

"Now's not the time for that! Just run! I can't hold Haruna down for much longer!"

"H stuff! I want my H stuff!"

Eying his restrained student warily, Negi took flight once more. Just in time too, as the mob had just rounded the corner behind him.

"Gah, how are you this strong?! You draw for Kamis' sake!" He heard Ranma-san shout in annoyance from behind him even through the screams of his name from the enchanted mob.

Putting distance between himself and the struggling sisters, Negi wished Ranma-san luck even as he felt he himself was running out of it. He was swiftly running out of space to escape to within the school.

"Negi! There you are!" Asuna-san's relieved voice called out from just up ahead. "Come on! The gymnasium should be clear."

"Right. Thanks Asuna-san." Negi shouted as he blitzed pass her and towards the school's gym.

Along the way he passed by a long bank of windows and Negi glanced outside worriedly. Did the potion's effect weaken over distance? Would girls seeing him from outside get enchanted too? There were a group of girls who from the uniforms Negi recognised as being from St. Ursula High, one of the Academy's High Schools, in the distance. Would they be caught up in this too!?

"Hey! Look at that cutie!" One of the high school girls called out, making Negi pale.

As if middle school girls weren't enough!

"Yeah, he's super cute isn't he? Wonder what he's doing there?" Another girl said, sounding just a little tipsy.

Thankfully it seemed distance did affect the power of the potion's effect - _Or was it because they were further along in puberty and had a more stable hormonal balance? Whatever! I'll take what I can get!_ \- because none of the high schoolers at least were foaming at the mouth and trying to catch him like the other enchanted girls were. Instead, they all just stood there commenting about how cute he was.

Breathing a sigh of relief at this lucky break, Negi finally made it pass the row of windows and out of sight.

_Hopefully, that'll break them out of the trance now._

"Negi-bozu!" "Negi-sensei!"

The redhead snapped in the direction of the voices to see Nagase-san and Ku Fei-san. From what he remembered of the roster Takamichi gave him, the two were highly athletic. This was not good.

"Out of way Kaede! Negi-sensei is mine!" Ku Fei-san said as she suddenly pushed her friend to the side and lunged at Negi.

She didn't make it three feet before she was forced to spin out of the way of a kick from Nagase-san. "I don't think so, Ku Fei. He's mine."

"In your dreams," Ku Fei-san growled as she leapt at the taller girl and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks that were so quick Negi couldn't even keep track of them. Amazingly this didn't faze Nagase-san who somehow managed to not only parry the attacks but launch into a counterattack of her own.

_What are they teaching the girls in this school?! It's madness! Nekane, you didn't prepare me for girls like this!_

The screech of the mob behind him reminded Negi that as impressive as the fight he was bearing witness to was, he had no time to enjoy it. He needed to keep going. His chastity was at stake!

Gunning his flight spell, he sped away from the two duelling martial artists and the mob of crazed girls further behind them.

* * *

Later that evening, after the love potion's power had _finally_ faded, Negi and Asuna-san found themselves kneeling in the dogeza position inside the Saotome sisters' dorm room while Ranma-san and Kuonji-san glared down at them disapprovingly.

"Illegal use of a love potion. On school grounds no less? I get you're some hotshot new graduate, Sensei, but reckless use of magic? I should bring this up with the Headmaster! That's if he doesn't already know." The petite girl glared at the teacher before turning to the twintail girl. "And you Asuna-san, you don't just shove a potion into someone else like that! You don't even know if he made it right to begin with! You two deserve a lot worse for this, so count yourselves lucky."

With that said, the redhead used a harisen she'd prepared earlier and smacked the two rule breakers hard enough on the top of their heads to leave lumps.

"You endangered a lot of people today, including Haruna!"

"I found it fun, actually." Haruna-san observed with a grin from where she was watching the whole thing on her bed.

"You didn't have to hold you back from jumping a ten year old's bones." Ranma-san sourly noted.

"I did have to wrestle with my sister." Haruna-san retorted cheekily. "Who, need I remind you has super strength thanks to her magic?"

"Not the point Haruna," Ranma-san said with a frown.

"I think it is."

"Um, not to interrupt but, Ranma-san weren't you worried about yourself?" Asuna-san asked confused. "I mean, about getting enchanted by the love potion?"

She was given another smack from Ranma-san's harisen that created yet another hissing bump atop her head for speaking up.

"I didn't give you permission to talk yet. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"We all know that Ranchan," Kuonji-san said with a grin. "But I think she meant _how_ you managed to do so. I'm honestly a little curious myself."

"Magic resistance." Ranma-san explained with a shrug of her shoulders. "Shrugging off compulsions like that love potion is part of a mage's training. It isn't easy but anyone with modest skill can manage it."

"It, uh, takes a lot more than that." Negi said uncertainly. "Shrugging off magical compulsion I mean. Most mages can't do it. Not as easily as you did."

The way Haruna-san nodded and looked at Ranma-san with pride was evidence that she agreed with him.

"Reckless children do not speak right now! Magic can be very dangerous damnit!" Ranma shouted, getting back into the hang of her rant. "And your hijinks was so bloody over the top that you're threatening my sanity! Don't ever do this again!"

"Yes ma'am!" Negi squeaked in fear.

"I promise," Asuna-san said, with just a slight tremble in her voice.

"Good, then you two can stand up now." Kuonji-san while gesturing at them with her oversized spatula.

"Can we talk too?" Asuna-san asked, rubbing the lumps on her head gingerly.

"Yeah, your punishment is over." Ranma-san said with a sigh as she collapsed into a beanbag chair.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Ranma-san." Negi said with a apologetic bow of his head. He really did feel ashamed that his student had to tell him off for how reckless he had been.

"So are you lot all mages too?" Asuna-san asked as she started stretching out her cramped limbs.

"Well, all except Ucchan," Ranma-san revealed easily. "She knows about magic though."

"My family are ninjas with a long history of dealing with magic," Kuonji-san explained before Negi could ask why her memory wasn't modified to protect the secrecy of magic.

"Though why does Asuna-san know about magic?"

Asuna-san gulped, looking frightfully at Ranma-san.

"Asuna-san is an exception to the normal rules, remember Onee-chan?" Haruna-san chimed in. "Her special power means we can't modify her memories, so the Headmaster said if she finds out, she finds out."

"Huh? Oh, that thing." Ranma-san knitted her brow.

"Hold up, special power? What am I? Some secret heroine?" Asuna-san cut in with a squeak in her voice.

"If half the things my clan found out about you, which isn't much, are true then you're mysterious enough to be one." Kunoji-san commented with a shrug as she took a seat across from Ranma-san.

"Huh? Whoa, back up, people looking into me? Explanations please!"

"Ninja remember," Kunoji-san said with a shrug. "I looked into _everyone_ in the class before I transferred in. Trust me, we're all a bunch of weirdos."

"Tell me about it," Ranma-san said with a grunt of annoyance.

"Can we get back to me having powers? What powers? What can I do?" The bell wearing girl asked with some excitement.

"The Headmaster didn't say much, just that you have some kinda magic cancel." Haruna-san explained helpfully.

"That sounds lame." Asuna-san pouted and crossed her arms. "I wanted laser eyes."

"I guess that would explain why the potion never affected you. Nor would it have worked for you." Negi rubbed his chin in thought.

"Though if the Headmaster knows about my special power, does it mean he's a mage too?"

"Duh," Haruna-san said condescendingly. "It's not just him either. There are tons of mages or magically aware students and staff at Mahora, since it doubles as the headquarters of the Kantō Magic Association. A lot of the magical families form the region send their kids here too, like me and Onee-chan."

"I mean, a quarter of our class knows about magic. You gotta be more subtle, Sensei." Ranma-san added dryly. "At this rate, you'll be an ermine in no time."

"Plus, love potions are illegal. How will you buy our silence?" Haruna asked with gleaming eyes.

"I've lived here for years and never noticed there were mages all over the place." Asuna-san mused, sounding amazed. "Wait! Is Takahata-sensei a mage too?"

"Takahata-sensei is one of the best in the school. Heck, he could take on anyone here outside the Headmaster." The petite girl informed her. "By the way, Asuna-san, how did you come to learn about magic in the first place?"

"I caught Negi-sensei using his magic." Asuna-san admitted shooting Negi a glare. "He ended up trying to erase my memories, but all he managed was to erase my clothes instead."

All the other girls looked at Negi like he was a pervert and the poor boy found himself breaking out into a cold sweat at their scrutiny.

"I swear that I didn't do it on purpose!" Negi shouted. "It was just a strange backfire."

"I suppose it might be because of Asuna-san's ability but for it to backfire in that particular way is still kinda weird." Ranma said, sounding unconvinced of Negi's innocence. Judging by Kuonji-san's slow nod in agreement, she was skeptical too.

"I believe him," Haruna-san said unexpectedly. "After all my own embarrassing failures with spells, it'd be silly not to."

"You never stripped someone by accident." Ranma-san pointed out.

"I did strip myself that one time I tried that laundry spell." Haruna-san retorted. "It's no big deal though. I know I've got no talent for magic. Not like my genius Onee-chan! At least one of us is carrying on our family's magical legacy."

Ranma-san blushed brilliantly at that and looked away. Negi might have misheard, but she seemed to whisper the words 'our family' lovingly under her breath for some reason.

He didn't let the short girl's strange reaction deter him though and bouncing in his seat, he addressed her. "This is great! I can talk about magic with some of my students! Oh, Ranma-san, Haruna-san, what spells do you two know?"

"We can talk shop, but only if you tell me what you learned in Wales." Ranma-san threw back with a tiny smile.

Negi felt one of his own growing as he launched into a list of the spells he'd learned. He had been the one to ask for it after all, so it was only polite that he shared first.

"Huh, that's a strangely large number of exorcism spells you've got there." Ranma-san said as she mulled over what he'd told her. "Well, whatever, I'm sure you have your reasons. So, anyways, the spells I know are-"

* * *

Watching as the two genius mages devolved into a discussion about their magic, their companions just looked on in amusement.

"It looks like they'll be at it for a while," Haruna-san observed. "Want to make some tea? I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

"Sure," Asuna said as she stood with a smile.

"I'll help too," Kuonji-san said as she came over to join them, looking just a tad intimidated by the two mages' enthusiasm

"The exotic spells you know are fascinating. And you've worked them all into arrow variants?"

"Yeah, but you seem to know some pretty high tier stuff, Sensei. Guess you didn't graduate off luck."

"Need a break from that huh?" Asuna asked the transfer student knowingly.

The ninja nodded unabashedly. "They're intense."

"Onee-chan gets that way whenever she talks magic. You'll get used to it."

Kuonji-san looked over at Haruna-san dubiously, but nevertheless nodded.

"Ok, enough dilly dallying," Asuna said taking charge. "The tea isn't going to make itself. Let's go."

With that the three girls went off to make refreshments for the two animatedly debating mages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> Pretty straightforward chapter this time around. We got both the war and the peace, or love in this case.
> 
> Nameless: So we've given you a glimpse of Ranma's spells both in the fight with Ryouga and in her discussion with Negi. Essentially, most of her spells are variants of the basic magic arrow spell, all of which are named after various animals in some way as inspired by her own name. Hope you like what you've seen so far and are looking forward to seeing more of what she can do.
> 
> Arrows, is there nothing you can't solve? Still, she's going to be learning some pretty sweet things, just you wait and see!
> 
> Nameless: We've changed some minor details of the love potion incident in this chapter. Mainly to set up the dodgeball incident that follows after. In canon that came quite out of left field, so this is our way of making it more logical. I hope we did good there.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace out my peeps!


	7. The Possessed Sword

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Seven: The Possessed Sword**

**Beta:**

* * *

The night of the incident with Negi-sensei's love potion, Ukyo found herself suffering a bout of insomnia.

_Damn! The power of that love potion was incredible. Is all magic that powerful or was Negi-sensei just that good of a mage?_ The descendant of the Kuonji clan thought to herself as she tossed and turned in her bed in a bid to get into a comfortable position that would hopefully let her fall asleep. _Either way, all those warnings from the old family scrolls when we were ninja about being wary of magicians were well warranted._

Sighing in frustration at all her efforts having no effect, Ukyo opened her eyes and glared at her ceiling. _Is this some kinda lingering side effect of the potion?_

She'd been a little hyper aware after the effects wore off, but she'd brushed that off as her being on edge after the incident, but that had faded after a while, didn't it? But if that was the case then what was causing her insomnia now?

Sighing once more at her inability to fall asleep, Ukyo turned to see if her roommates were having the same trouble as she was. Sadly, it looked like it was only her. Seeing both Ako-san and Makie-san fast asleep just made her feel all kinds of envious.

_I'm honestly tempted to wake them up just so they can suffer with me,_ Ukyo thought with yet another sigh. _But that would just be mean._

And Ukyo was not a mean person.

Deciding to escape the temptation altogether, Ukyo pushed herself off her bed and headed over to her closet.

_Maybe a walk will help. It can't be any worse than just laying in bed and staring into the dark._

* * *

Armed with her combat and throwing spatulas that she'd retrieved from her closet but still just dressed in her pajamas, Ukyo walked down a long abandoned path through the woods that was half consumed by the surrounding forest.

_And no, no matter what Ran-chan says a combat spatula isn't weird!_ Ukyo thought to herself with a huff as she continued wandering down the old path through the trees.

_Yesh, I can't believe the campus has its own forest. And since it does you'd think there would be trail markers or something._

Initially, Ukyo's nighttime stroll had consisted of her just walking around aimlessly but then she'd felt a weak pull drawing her somewhere. She couldn't really describe it properly, but if she were to put it into words then it would be something like a tug on her senses? Or maybe something deeper than that?

Wary but curious, the young woman decided to follow it which in turn eventually led her to walking down this frankly rather creepy path in a seemingly forgotten section of Mahora's woodlands.

_Maybe I should turn back? I could check in with Ranchan if this is some kinda magic spell or something first and then come back to investigate?_ Ukyo pondered, her doubts on the situation mounting. Not helped at all by the way the pull seemed to respond to them by becoming more insistent.

"Okay, okay," Ukyo said with a frustrated sigh. The latest in many that she'd made this terrible night. "I get it. You don't want me turning back."

This declaration seemed to satisfy the pull and its intensity died down. Shaking her head at her own recklessness at following what she was by now certain was some kind of magical phenomenon, Ukyo continued to follow the pull's directions.

Fortunately for her increasingly frayed nerves, it wasn't long before she reached her destination, the sight of which caused her to pause in her step. Standing in front of the young martial artist was a elaborate Shinto tomb that had fallen into disrepair thanks to the passage of time. Much of it had been reclaimed by the surrounding forest. However, one thing remained completely untouched: the seemingly pristine sheathed sword laying atop of the offering table.

_The pull… it's from the sword._ Ukyo realized in stunned awe.

Two thoughts came to mind. One, it was a magic sword. Two, it was a _cursed_ sword.

Both options made her uneasy.

"I'm gonna have to pick up that sword, ain't I?"

The pull suddenly surged with feeling, somehow inserting the image of an eager, happily nodding dog in her mind.

_Why does it feel like it was playing fetch and I'm the stick?_ Ukyo thought with annoyance as she nonetheless did what the strange magical force wanted. She was pretty sure she wouldn't get any peace if she didn't. That and she was honestly curious what picking up the sword would actually do.

She had always been a sucker for a good mystery. It came with her shinobi heritage.

Sighing for the umpteenth time and mentally cursing her own lack of self-control, the young martial artist walked over and picked up the katana. Its sheath and hilt were well cared for but otherwise plain and unremarkable.

_Guess I'll need to draw the blade._

With only a hint of caution and hesitation, she pulled the sword out of its scabbard and was immediately blinded by a bright light.

Wincing, she blinked the spots out of her eyes and was greeted with a vision that caused her breath to hitch. Somehow, she'd found herself standing on a rocky cliff, overlooking a small lake that was being fed by a waterfall on the opposite bank. That she'd been transported, at least in mind, somewhere else was shocking enough but what really had caught her attention was the man she now found standing before her.

He was a tall man with a somewhat angular face and a very well developed physique. He had long, jet black hair in a ponytail and piercing eyes the colour of obsidian. He was dressed in a short-sleeved blue gi, black hakama pants tucked into knee-high boots, and an ankle-length, white cloak with red lining. At his waist was strapped a very familiar looking katana.

All in all, he appeared to be nothing less than a samurai god of some kind. All he needed was a backdrop for dramatics sake, which Ukyo reasoned was probably what the cliff and waterfall were.

"Greetings," the muscular man said politely. "I am Hiko Seijūrō XIII."

"Um, hello?" Ukyo replied automatically. She honestly didn't know what else she could say in a situation like this. What does one say to the ghost/god/whatever that had used a siren effect of some kind to lure you into an audience?

"You are the one who heard the call of my blade?"

"That pull thing?" The samurai nodded. "Yeah, I felt it."

"And you managed to draw it from its sheath?"

It was Ukyo's turn to nod in reply.

"Then you are the one I've been waiting for." The man said with a smirk. "From this moment on, you are my apprentice and the heir to the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ (Flying Heavenly Sword Style)."

"Uh… What?" Ukyo blinked in confusion.

* * *

**Months later...**

It was another late night and like so many others before it, Ukyo once more stood in front of Hiko Seijūrō XIII's grave glaring at the ghost who called himself her Shishou while panting in exhaustion.

"You did well tonight," the spectre informed her as he sheathed his sword after having once more trashed her in a spar.

The budding swordswoman huffed, "Stuff it. I'm only here because if I don't come you'd possess me and forcibly bring me here to train."

That he could do that brought stranger danger to a whole new level, but did the ghost care? Not one bit! Training was honestly all the bloody samurai could think of, which was both a relief and annoying as hell.

Hiko Seijūrō XIII just laughed. "I only did that twice. Once on the second night when you thought meeting me was nothing more than a dream and the other time was when you were too tired from studying all afternoon and slept through her alarm."

"Yeah, you _did_ train me well after all." She replied, her tone practically dripping with sarcasm.

The ghost finally seemed to catch on and eyed her searchingly.

"Do you honestly think that, Ukyo-chan?" The ghost asked, sounding sad or as much as the gruff man ever got. "Do you really believe that I'd teach an unwilling student?"

"What else would you call me?"

"Someone in denial?"

Ukyo sputtered and waved her hands in negatory motions.

"Let me ask you this, my student, aren't you proud of how strong you've gotten? Would you really want to give up all your hard earned skill with the blade? Give up the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_?"

These questions gave Ukyo pause and she stopped to really consider the matter for the first time.

It had been tough. Tougher than anything she'd ever done before. But it had also changed her in ways she'd not imagined possible. She was a completely different person now compared to the person she'd been when she'd first started this training. She'd reached heights of ability beyond anything she'd ever thought she was capable of attaining.

_I can split boulders without using an ounce of Ki. With it, I could nearly split a whole waterfall! The results are clear… And even if it had been hell… If I actually stopped to think on it… I loved it!_

Sighing at realizing how much of a fool she was, she turned to meet her mentor's piercing gaze.

"I _do_ enjoy learning the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_." Ukyo admitted reluctantly.

"That's good to hear," her Shishou said with a nod. "Because things are just going to get tougher for you from now onwards."

_Is it too late to change my mind?_ The young martial artist thought as she gulped nervously.

* * *

**Another few months later...**

Once more, Ukyo stood before the tomb of Hiko Seijūrō XIII. The spirit floated before it, arms crossed and stern eyes baring into her soul.

"I have to go. My friend, Ran-chan, has gone missing. So I have to go for a while."

"Hmph, fearing for the safety of a Demon Lord? Any foes that could so much as inconvenience her, much less put her in danger, would be far above what you could handle. You would have to be far more powerful to even hope for a chance of survival much less victory against such odds, child."

The frost in his words cut deep but Ukyo refused to back down from this.

"Yeah… And that's why I came to see you."

"Why? I have nothing left to teach you." Her Shishou said with a shrug. "Your skills are still raw and in need of practice and refinement, but I've taught you all the techniques of the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_."

"All the techniques but one," Ukyo insisted.

Hiko Seijūrō XIII's already stern face became even more serious at the insinuation. "If you are implying what I think you are, then I need you to say it."

_This is it._ Ukyo thought as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before finally taking the plunge. "I need to learn the _Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki_ (Flash of the Heavenly Soaring Dragon)."

"You may very well die. Which would be a shame after all the time I've invested in you."

The grip on her hilt tightened, "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Is that so?" The spirit of Hiko Seijūrō XIII said as he casually moved into a fighting stance, Ukyo following suit. "Are you absolutely sure? I might be a ghost, but my blade still cuts flesh as cleanly as it did while I lived."

Ukyo just nodded determinedly, her hand resting on the handle of her sword.

Hiko Seijūrō XIII nodded in return, an impressed look in his eyes at the sight of her resolve.

For a long moment, master and apprentice stood there motionless. This stillness was shattered however when without any warning Hiko Seijūrō XIII dashed toward Ukyo, his sword flashing as he unleashed his _Kuzuryūsen_ (Nine-Head Dragon Flash) at his student.

Despite the incoming deadly attack, Ukyo kept her cool like her Shishou had trained her. Instead of becoming flustered, she focused her senses until time seemed to slow for her as she watched her master's blade be transformed by his _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) into nine swords, each aimed at one of her vitals.

She should have been terrified. No technique in her repertoire could save her from the assault bearing down on her. Yet she felt nothing but a sense of victorious pride as she _saw_ what she needed to do.

Almost lazily, she fell into the the form of a standard Battōjutsu strike and lashed out with her blade. However, instead of taking a single step with the foot opposite to her sheath as per the norm, she took another lightning quick step mid-draw with the foot adjacent to the sheath. This created an instantaneous acceleration to her forward-charge as well as the sword draw. An increased speed that allowed her to at once evade her Shishou's attack and also slip past his guard and cut him from shoulder to hip.

Her Shishou fell backwards from the _mortal_ blow dealt to him. As he laid on the ground, a resonating chuckle escaped from the spirit that soon became uproarious laughter.

"Haha, oh, oh my student." He sat up, legs crossed, a wide and vicious smile upon his usually stern face, "Congratulations. You have truly mastered the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_. Heh, I knew I chose wisely."

With a flourish, Ukyo sheathed her blade as sweat dripped down her brow and her heart thundered in her chest, "Y-Yes." She breathed out and offered a grateful bow, one she meant wholeheartedly.

The fading ghost's smile turned softer, somewhat, as he said, "You have earned the title of Hiko Seijūrō, my student. Wear it with pride, for few ever had the chance."

Ukyo, still bowing, replied, "It will be my honour to uphold and carry on your and Himura-sama's legacy, Shishou."

"Lift your head, Ukyo-chan." The ghost said tenderly.

Obediently the swordmistress obeyed, revealing in the process the tears trailing down her cheeks. The motion also allowed her to see that her Shishou was only left with his upper body, the rest having faded into the beyond.

"You will be the greatest Hiko Seijūrō yet, I'm sure of it." The ghost assured her with confidence.

"I-I thank you for your praise," Ukyo said through her sniffling.

Hiko Seijūrō XIII smiled as all but his head remaining, he said his last words to his final apprentice, "Go now, Hiko Seijūrō XV and save your friend. Show the world once more the might of the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_!"

"Hai!" Ukyo says with determination as her Shishou fully passed into the afterlife

Standing there for a long moment, Ukyo stared at where her Shishou had finally passed on. The area had lost some of its splendor with the loss of his spirit.

Bowing once more, she rose and turned away, wiping the few tears that spilled from her eyes.

Fishing out her phone, she checked Hyperdia for directions to the location her Father had given her.

"Nerima huh?" Ukyo said, her voice _almost_ normal. "Well, I sure hope it's ready for me. Because Hiko Seijūrō XV is about to pay it a visit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always for all his help!
> 
> Man, we busted this chapter out in record time. Like I think only an hour and a half? Madness!
> 
> Nameless: Indeed, we did. We're just that good. XD
> 
> I like this interlude, it both tells things but also doesn't. The best kind of foreshadowing chapter XD
> 
> Nameless: Agreed. It sets up story development while hinting at the same in the rest of the story. At least that was our intent. Tell us if we did it right.
> 
> You know what to do, smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	8. The Chisame Effect

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Eight: The Chisame Effect**

**Beta:**

* * *

_It's been a long day._ Ranma mused as she walked to the showers. After that silly dodgeball match with the Black Lilies team from Mahora's all-girls high school, Saint Ursula Girls' High School, all Ranma wanted was a nice soak in the bathhouse's relaxing heated baths.

_Seriously! Betting our sensei? Who has that kind of authority in our class? Certainly not those high schoolers! As if the Dean would even_ allow _that to happen._ Ranma snarled as she threw her head back and exclaimed, "Why does 2-A not have any common sense?!"

"I totally hear you, Ranma-san." Her classmate, Chisame Hasegawa, said in loud agreement as she stepped out of her dorm clutching her bath things in a pail like Ranma was. Clearly they had the same idea.

Gifting her a thumbs up, her large glasses twinkled even as the orangette wore a tearful smile on her face.

Ranma couldn't help but feel a little choked up as well. "Are you heading to the bathhouse too?"

"Yeah," Hasegawa-san said with a nod. "I need to wash off all the crazy."

"I hear you. I get our class but those high schoolers were idiots. How did they think it would work?"

Ranma _had_ detected some trace magic on them though, so it might not have been totally the high schoolers' fault. But still! It wasn't like it was anything substantial. Surely, it wouldn't have made them act that much like a bunch of fools!

"I'm with you," the bespectacled girl agreed with another nod. "But really it's all Negi-sensei's fault isn't it? He's just too cute for his own good. I swear that kid sensei is not worth this hassle."

"I dunno, I think Sensei is trying his best. Though he does seem to attract unneeded trouble." Ranma rubbed the back of her neck. "Maybe it's a European thing?"

"To be a chibi gigolo?" Hasegawa-san deadpanned.

_Harsh! Best change the topic a little._

"So you think Negi-sensei is cute?" Ranma teased.

"Hah?! Do I look like Iinchō? I have standards Saotome-san."

"Well, you did say he was cute just now."

"I was speaking objectively," the orangette insisted. "He's cute like a stuffed animal. He's cute like you're cute. He's not cute like in a cute boy kinda way."

_The lady doth protest too much, methinks,_ Ranma mentally quoted from _Hamlet_ with amusement.

"So you say," the cursed redhead said with a mischievous grin.

"You are starting to sound like your sister."

"Oh! Speaking of Haruna, I kinda wanted to ask you something." Ranma asked with a touch of eagerness.

"Yeah?" Hasegawa-san asked as she quirked a brow.

"You see, since Haruna's doing part-time work for her mangaka job, I was hoping for some computer advice. I remember you do some IT work on the side, right?"

"Something like that," the closet cosplay idol - whose attempts at secrecy was really fooling no one, at least not in 2-A - said evasively. "So what do you want to know?"

"I was hoping you had some ideas on a new computer. Her current one lags sometimes when she's doing her art stuff."

"How bad is it?"

"Uh, it's not that bad," Ranma admitted as they began walking down the stairs to the ground floor where the bathhouse was located. "But she's been complaining and I want to help her out."

"Well if it isn't too bad then it might be cheaper to just have her upgrade her drawing software." Hasegawa concluded. "If that doesn't work then consider getting her a new PC."

"Wouldn't that be more expensive? I mean it'll be two purchases wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, but if she does get a new computer she can just port over the new drawing software too so it isn't really a loss. And if the software really is the issue then you've saved yourself some Yen."

"I guess you're right." Ranma replied agreeably after mulling over the matter a bit. "You really are an expert at this stuff, huh?"

Hasegawa-san just shrugged. "I just know some stuff."

Ranma was about to comment on her modesty when out of nowhere a large chúi (a Chinese mace) slammed into the wall inches from her face.

"What the hell!?" Hasegawa-san shouted in shock, stumbling back a few steps.

Ranma however just reacted as she threw herself to the side, narrowly evading the second chúi that would have caved her head in if she hadn't dodged. This left her open however as a purple blur leapt at her with a kick.

_Volant_ (fly). Ranma incanted in her mind, activating her flight spell and letting her drift out of the way of the kick.

"Ranma Saotome! You die!" Her attacker, a girl dressed in a Chinese styled outfit consisting of a matching blouse and pants, shouted in heavily accented Japanese as she retrieved her maces and launched herself at the mage.

"I'm getting a teacher!" Hasegawa-san shouted as she raced off. "Hang in there, Ranma-san! Don't die!"

"I won't?" Ranma replied, surprised that the relatively normal Hasegawa-san - of all people - would say something like that.

Maybe it was adrenaline or something or that Hasegawa-san was cool under pressure?

"Quit acting like fly." Ranma's attacker, that the redhead recognized as the Joketsuzoku known as Shān Pú, shouted as she kept trying to smash her head in and failing.

"No. Why don't you buzz off instead you psycho!" Ranma shot back tauntingly as she evaded her opponent's swings by casually floating just out of her reach.

As she did so though, she very deliberately moved their little scuffle away from the dorms and into the surrounding woods. The Dean wouldn't appreciate it if they smashed up the building any more than they already had. And no one, well maybe except the blue haired madwoman, wanted to hurt bystanders.

"Why the hell are you even here anyways?" Ranma asked as they reached somewhere deep enough in the forest that she felt safe to fight back and proceeded to draw her crossbow from her 'hammerspace'.

"You stain Shān Pú honor when beat her! Not even take Kiss of Death! So must die now."

"What!? That kind of thinking is medieval!" Ranma countered while raising her crossbow at the taller girl and firing off a brace of _Sagitta Magica_ (Magic Arrow).

"Ha! Funny coming from weakling! What wrong? No train, fool?" The blue haired lunatic sneered as she spun her chúi rapidly and deflected the incoming magical projectiles.

_Calling me a weakling? We'll see about that._ Ranma thought as a pair of her magic arrows which had veered off from the direction of her initial barrage course corrected and hurtled themselves towards the Chinese amazon's unguarded back.

Much to the redhead's surprise however, Shān Pú reacted with shocking speed and easily swung one of her chúi behind her back to deflect the two projectiles. All without so much as turning behind her to take a look at their trajectories.

_Is her sixth sense really_ that _good!?_ Ranma boggled.

Her shock cost her, as the blue haired girl took the chance to fling one of her chúi at the airborne Saotome.

" _Armis Testa_ (Shell Armor)!" Ranma cast hastily, conjuring a set of magical plate armor around her body that shielded her from the full force of the blow. It didn't stop her from being sent flying back though.

"You no insult sacred Kiss of Death," Shān Pú hissed like a viper, the murderous intent behind her words practically propelling her as she leapt into the air in a burst of what Ranma recognized as _Koku Shundō_. " _Huǒzhōng Tiānjīn Gānlì Quán_ (Imperial Roasting Chestnuts in the Fire Fist)!"

The Joketsuzoku's attack slammed into Ranma like a freight train. In a matter of seconds, what must have been dozens, maybe hundreds, of blows struck her petite frame with full force. Her magical armor absorbed most of the damage but even it strained, cracks appearing all over the tortoise shell carapace. Even then a good amount of the strength of the blows seeped into Ranma's own body and left her body aching all over from the full-on attack.

" _Clamor Vespertilio_ (Bat Scream)!" Ranma said in a supersonic screech that caused her opponent to flinch and create enough of an opening for her to dart higher into the air in a bid to create more distance.

"That all you can do?" Shān Pú snorted dismissively. "Howl like bat? Pathetic. You became weak."

"Hey!" Ranma shouted back indignantly. "Just because I've changed arts doesn't mean I'm weak. I'm still plenty strong enough to beat the living tar outta ya."

"Big talk," the Chinese girl said as she fell into a ready stance once more. "Show me. If can."

Ranma gritted her teeth and readied herself. Silently she cast _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura), enhancing herself whilst simultaneously pumping a healthy dose of magical power into her _Armis Testa_ (Shell Armor) to repair the damage it'd taken in the last exchange.

"Oh, I'll show you alright," Ranma promised as she gathered her magic for a powerful spell.

Just before Ramna's counterattack could begin however, a explosive strike of magic and Ki hit the earth between Ranma and Shān Pú. As the dust settled, it revealed the large crater that the explosion had created.

"I think that's enough for now." The smooth baritone voice of Takahata-sensei stated as the man walked towards them with his hands in his pockets and radiating power that had the hair on the back of Ranma's neck standing up.

"You! How dare interfere!" Shān Pú seethed, puffing up like a rabid cat.

"You were about to attack one of my students with deadly intent, so yes I dare." Takahata-sensei said, sounding casual but with an undertone of menace.

He was pissed. A fact that sent a shiver up Ranma's spine. She'd seen what the man could do when he wasn't trying. She didn't want to imagine what he could manage when he was furious.

"I-!" Shān Pú started but the tree right next to her shattered into kindling in an instant.

This seemed to finally clue the dense Chinese girl into the threat she now faced, but instead of forcing her to back down, this seemed to enrage her.

A fact that had Ranma considering her a moron.

With a snarl, the blue haired girl flickered towards Takahata-Sensei with _Shundō_ and swung her chúis at him. Without batting an eye, the arts teacher simply caught both maces with his hands and crushed them.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" The man said with a raised eyebrow as he effortlessly deflected the flurry of punches and kicks that the Joketsuzoku immediately switched into at the loss of her weapons.

"No look down on Shān Pú!" The crazed Amazon shouted as she leapt back and fell into a new unfamiliar stance.

" _Bàosuì Diǎnxué_ (Breaking Point)!" The Chinese girl shouted as she burst forward with _Shundō_ once again and began stabbing at Takahata-sensei with her fingertips.

Whatever her technique did - and Ranma was _very_ curious to figure that out -, it seemed to put the teacher on edge as his eyes narrowed even as he once more deflected the barrage of attacks the Chinese girl unleashed.

"You could kill someone if even one of those strikes hit," Takahata-sensei said coldly.

"That point!"

"Is that so?" The teacher said, as he tucked one of his hands into his pants pocket leaving only one to continue deflecting his opponent's determined attack. "Then I think you've overstayed your welcome, young lady."

In a blur of motion that was orders of magnitude more swift than even the high speed strikes that Shān Pú had managed, the hand Takahata-Sensei had put into his pocket lashed out and hit the girl square in her solar plexus. At the same time, the volatile mix of magic and ki that he'd built up in the closed fist detonated in a powerful explosion that sent the Chinese girl flying back.

If she hadn't reinforced her body with ki, the blast would have killed her instantly. As it was, even with her reinforcement it still managed to have her vomiting blood as she was sent flying back and through the air like a ragdoll. It wasn't over for her though as Takahata-sensei followed it up with yet another explosive blast of his legendary _Iaiken_ attack that blended the power of Eastern ki and Western magic in the powerful _Kankaho_ style. And another and another. He didn't stop hitting the intruder until her battered body was completely out of sight.

All in such a short time that by the time Ranma had finished processing what was going on, it was all already over.

_Holy shit! Is this what Takahata-sensei is capable of? Scary._

"You can land now, Ranma-chan." Her art teacher told her with a comforting smile. "And you can come out now, Hasegawa-san."

"Okay, what the heck just happened?" Hasegawa-san asked as she peeked out from behind a tree, shaking like a leaf. "I-Is that nutjob gone?"

Ranma was about to answer but she noticed Takahata-sensei walk up to the orangette and snap his fingers. The sound echoed and Hasegawa-san collapsed into the sensei's waiting arms.

A spike of annoyance ran though Ranma at seeing this but she smothered it for now.

"Ranma-chan, come with me. We'll be dropping off Hasegawa-san at the nurse's office. In the meantime, you can explain to me what just happened."

"Yes, Sensei."

As they walked, their conversation protected by magic, Ranma explained the whole 'Kiss of Death' thing to her old sensei.

* * *

A few days later, the older Saotome sister felt her worry gnaw at her as she thought about Hasegawa-san and the memory wipe she'd been subjected to. While there was only a small chance the spell could cause brain damage, there was _still_ a possibility.

As classes for the day dragged on, Ranma looked over to the girl's chair and frowned at seeing that it was empty today like it had been for the past two days. Hasegawa-san had just claimed she wasn't feeling well and was taking some time off to recover. She was probably just playing hooky, but… What if she wasn't? What if she was suffering some kind of side effect from the memory wipe?

"Psst, Onee-sama," Haruna leaned over and whispered into her ear when their current teacher's back was turned. "If you're so worried then go check on her. Just stop keep looking at her empty seat. It's getting weird. If not, I betcha someone is gonna accuse you of having a crush on Hasegawa-san soon. If so, I totally support you."

Ranma blushed at the mere insinuation and hastily looked away, glancing discreetly at her classmates to see if anyone noticed her behavior. Particularly, a certain perpetually bored looking petite blonde. Sighing in relief when no one seemed to have so much as batted an eye in her direction, Ranma lightly smacked her foster sister for her teasing before nodding.

"Oh, and since she might _actually_ be sick. Remember to bring her soup. Or maybe some flowers. Something to show your concern, 'kay?" Haruna reminded her. "It'll be romantic."

Ranma shot a sideways glare at her hellion of a sister and pinched her side, hard. The pained yelp she got as a result was worth all the curious stares she got from her classmates. Haruna should know better than to tease her Onee-sama!

* * *

Once classes were done for the day, and after a quick stop at the florist - _Wow! I'm not helping any rumors that might creep up, am I? Dang it Haruna!_ -, Ranma found herself standing before Hasegawa-san's dorm door.

At least the coast was clear.

Composing herself, Ranma lightly knocked on the door.

"Who, cough, is it?" Hasegawa-san called out from inside with a decidedly fake cough.

"It's Ranma, Hasegawa-san." The young mage dryly stated. "I'm just checking up on you."

"You didn't need to do that-" Hasegawa-san as she opened her door, before her eyes narrowed on the bouquet Ranma was holding. "What's with the flowers?"

"Uh, Haruna convinced me that it might be a nice sign of my concern?" Ranma offered, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Haruna-san, huh? I should've guessed." Hasegawa-san said with a shake of her head. "Your sister is a troll, you know that?"

"Yeah, she kinda is." Ranma was forced to admit. As one of Haruna's most frequent victims she knew it all too well.

"By the way, you _do_ know I was just playing hooky right?"

"I thought so, but I was kinda still worried. So…"

Hasegawa-san looked at her searchingly for a moment before sighing and muttering something about lovable idiots under her breath. "Well, I guess I appreciate the concern at least."

"Uh, thanks!?" Ranma asked surprised.

"What's with the surprise?" The orangette asked, sounding a tad offended.

"Well, honestly?" The redhead said while fidgeting nervously. "I wasn't too sure you'd even open the door when I knocked."

"Hey! I maybe be an introvert but I'm not anthrophobic!" Hasegawa-san said crossing her arms indignantly.

"Ah, um, right! I'm, uh, just glad you are okay. Hehehe." Ranma awkwardly laughed.

"You're weird Ranma-san, but at least less weird than the rest of the nutjobs in the class."

"Thanks?" The smaller redhead replied. "So, um, are you going to invite me in?"

"Why would I?"

Ranma just sweat dropped at the other girl's blunt response. She's certainly prickly too.

"Ranma-san! Hasegawa-san!" A voice called out as they both turned to see Negi-sensei running down the hallway.

"Tch, the pest." The cosplayer grimaced and started to cough into her hand.

The cursed girl just rolled her eyes at her classmate's antics.

"So sorry to disturb you when you should be resting Hasegawa-san," Negi-sensei said as he came to a stop in front of the orangette's door. "But I'm here to deliver all the homework you've missed over the last few days. And, um, if you're up to it, I'd like to invite you to attend a party the class is throwing to welcome me too."

"To welcome you?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. "Haven't you been around for a while now already?"

"They probably just wanted to party and needed an excuse." Hasegawa-san suggested as she took the flowers Ranma was still stupidly clutching and tossed it behind her into her dorm room.

"Oh yeah. Pretty standard for our class."

Slumping against the door, Hasegawa-san groaned in agreement.

"You'd think they'd be studying instead." Ranma said with a shake of head. "The exams aren't exactly far off at this point."

"Our class? Ha! They'd only study if there was some kinda Sword of Damocles over their heads."

"Right?"

Negi, who had been watching the play by play was sporting a wide grin as he commented, "You two are really good friends, aren't you?"

The two girls just exchanged a look, before Hasegawa shrugged. "Ranma-san is one of the more tolerable people in our class."

It was at this point she seemed to remember she was supposed to be sick, and once again faked a coughing fit.

"Hasegawa-san are you alright?" Negi-sensei cried out, concerned. "Maybe you should sit down."

Even as he said that, he gently pushed a startled Hasegawa-san back into her dorm.

Standing there watching as the door closed on the duo, Ranma took a minute to whistle at the sight of all the computer equipment she glimpsed within. Mostly though, she was just thoroughly amused by the interaction between Negi-sensei and Hasegawa-san.

"Bye Hasegawa-san, Negi-sensei." Ranma shouted through the door to the pair. "I'll be making a move."

She pretended not to hear how Hasegawa-san all but begged her to stay and help her with Negi-sensei. She wasn't getting between those two if she could help it. It would be so much more fun to see the mayhem between them from a distance.

* * *

It was a couple hours later and Ranma, against her own better judgement, was attending the impromptu party her classmates had decided to throw to welcome Negi-sensei and Ucchan to Mahora. She would much rather have spent the time on her magical research or studying for the exams but she had to admit that it was pretty enjoyable.

There was good food provided by the finest chefs the class had to offer, which Ranma was pretty sure were a match for most Michelin Star restaurants, and with Ucchan, Haruna and the rest of the Library Trio to hang out with there was good company too.

In fact, her little group were deep in conversation about the mysteries of the Library Island when she spotted Hasegawa-san being dragged down to the party by Negi-sensei.

_How the heck did Negi-sensei convince a borderline hikikomori to be here?_ Ranma pondered as she sipped her juice. _I guess our little computer geek doesn't hate him as much as she claims._

She'd have to ask Hasegawa-san later. Along with why she thought coming out in a bunny girl outfit was a smart idea. In fact, what was she doing dressed up like that around poor, impressionable Negi-sensei in the first place? Was she trying to seduce him?

"I wouldn't put it pass her," Haruna said with her signature teasing grin. "It's always the quiet ones."

"Hasegawa-san isn't exactly quiet though," Ayase-san noted. "She's downright loud when she's worked up."

"True. Though Onee-sama, I have a critical question." Haruna said, looking completely serious. "What is _your_ opinion on bunnysuits?"

"Haruna!" Ranma shouted as she reached out to pinch the living daylights out of her sister.

Said miscreant just giggled and squirmed out of the way, prompting a game of cat and mouse that soon, somehow, dragged in the rest of the class and ended in a fun, chaotic mess.

Or in other words, it was just another day for 2-A.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, Chisame, the only source of common sense in the Negi-verse. For shame her sanity will be tested to the extreme. Tis tradition!
> 
> Nameless: Is it any wonder she marries the kid in canon? I mean, despite how insane he ends up as, he did start as a pretty level headed person. He probably was attracted to her purely based on the fact she reminded her of what it meant to be normal. XD
> 
> Shh, spoilers! XD
> 
> Nameless: Anyways, hope you liked the little bits of foreshadowing we dropped here in terms of pairings. They weren't very subtle but we tend to err on the side of being blunt with it. Not to be offensive, but we do need to cater to the lowest common denominator when it comes to readers.
> 
> On another note, what did you guys think about the fight(s) this chapter? We tried to make it seem like Ranma is weaker than Shampoo who in turn is utterly outclassed by Takamichi. This is purely based on current stats though, so don't worry too much about Ranma being underpowered. That'll change. Oh, it'll change alright. [Rubs hands together in anticipation]
> 
> E4E: Of course, even if Shampoo is a nutcase, she's no less awesome in a fight. Though Takamichi is just above her in terms of experience and power. So in the end, both were badass, but in the end just one could be the winner.
> 
> Nameless: On a last note, let us clarify the confusion among some reviewers over the previous chapter. It seems some reviewers didn't read the chapter closely and failed to notice the timestamps in the last few scenes that indicate the events they portray are happening over the course of the story. They offer hints as to what will happen in the future. Hope this clears things up.
> 
> You know what to do, smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	9. Library Dive

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Nine: Library Dive**

**Beta:**

* * *

Negi sat nervously in Dean Konoe's office as the man laid out the situation before him.

"So do you understand?" The usually grandfatherly older gentleman asked sternly.

"Yes," Negi said with a nervous gulp. "Because 2-A's grade trend has been on a steady decline since they entered Middle School, it's up to me as their Homeroom Teacher to change that in the upcoming exams. And that my success at this task will be a major part of my assessment as a teacher and thus as a Magister Magi."

"Exactly, Negi-kun. If 2-A continues to underperform, the black mark is something you're unlikely to recover from. As such to avoid failing your graduation assignment, you really _must_ succeed. Or else..."

 _I'd be a failure of a magi._ Negi lamented, a cloud of depression coming over him.

"I-I u-understand." Negi replied nervously.

"Good luck, you'll need it!"

The red haired boy wanted to whimper, but he held his composure. Mostly. With a stiff nod, he rose from the chair woodenly and exited the office.

Leaning against the wall just outside, he muttered to himself. "Okay, think Negi! How can I get the girls to study? Alright Negi!" He said to psych himself up, "Time to teach as you've never teached before!"

* * *

"You what!?" Asuna-san shouted at him as they sat in their shared dorm room and he finished explaining to her his plan for improving 2-A's grades in the upcoming exams.

"I, um, sealed my magic so I wouldn't be tempted to use it to cheat somehow," Negi repeated warily as he backed away from his roommate who was looming over him rather intimidatingly in her frustration.

"Why would you do that, you stupid little munchkin?!" Asuna-san demanded in a low hiss.

"Well, after the love potion incident," Asuna-san scowled at the reminder but Negi soldiered on even as he quailed a little at the look. "You and Ranma-san and everyone told me not to be so lax with my magic, correct? So I'm just taking the temptation to do so off the table."

"Ugh, I mean. I get it, alright? Just… let's not jump to extremes too often, you got that squirt?" Asuna-san jabbed a finger into his chest, making him rub the spot. "I mean how are you going to make the class manage something as impossible as what the Dean wants you to do without magic?"

"Y-Yes, Asuna-san." Negi cleared his throat, "We'll simply study. It can't be that hard correct? Some of the most intelligent students in the Academy are in class 2-A."

"As a Baka-Ranger, I can tell you that it's _not enough_!" Asuna-san said with a wince, looking pained at the confession.

"Aw! Don't beat yourself down like that," Konoka-san said as she came home from getting groceries for their dinner, she'd offered to cook them something special tonight, while waving a leek at Asuna-san. "You won't know until you actually try it."

"Are you saying I _don't_ study, Konoka?"

"Nowhere near enough," the brunette shot back as she walked into their room's small kitchenette to put down the groceries. "You're always too busy doing everything else _but_ studying it seems. No wonder your grades are so poor."

"Yeah, alright. I'll give you that." Asuna-san conceded, looking rather grumpy at being called out. "But how is studying now gonna help? We have what? Only have a week left?"

"I could make a comment, but I won't because I'm very nice." Konoka-san teased with a tiny smile, "In the meantime, you should just sit down, with a book, and read it. It's not so hard."

"Says one of the brainiacs of the class!"

"Do I look like Chao-san or Hakase-san or even Ranma-san for that matter?" Konoka-san said as she turned to Asuna-san, her nose scrunched up. "I can't just read a book once and know everything I need from it. I actually have to _study_ it. Take notes, memorize stuff, and so on. It isn't hard."

"You make it sound _so easy_ ," Asuna-san said with a defeated sigh as she collapsed onto their coffee table. "But that just doesn't work for me."

"Then we'll just think of another study method that suits you," Negi said encouragingly. "There has to be one that will work for you."

"Thanks Sensei," Asuna-san replied with a genuine smile.

"I'll help to-"

Konoka-san's offer was cut off as the doorbell rang. The three of them exchanged a look before all of them shrugged. None of them had expected anyone coming over due to it being a week before the exams. Everyone should be studying.

"I'll get it," Asuna-san said, jumping to her feet and walking to the door.

She'd barely opened the door when Yukihiro-san barged into the room and immediately latched onto Negi.

"Sensei! Tell me it isn't true!" She cried out desperately. "Tell me that the Dean won't fire you if the class doesn't do well in the exams!"

"He'll what!?" Asuna-san shouted in shock before shooting Konoka-san, the Dean's granddaughter, a look.

"I can totally see Oji-chan doing that," Konoka-san admitted with an exasperated sigh. "Negi-kun, I hope you have a really good plan."

Negi grimaced visibly before he was scooped up into the Class President's arms. "Oh you poor dear! I will not stand for this! The Dean is hardly being fair!"

"Ayaka! Put Negi down!" Asuna-san demanded. "Now's not the time for this nonsense!"

"Oh! I know," the blonde replied, though making no move to let Negi go at all. "That's why I brought along your fellow Baka-Rangers."

Looking out the door, Negi saw Ayase-san, Ku Fei-san, Sasaki-san, and Nagase-san standing there looking in with nervous looks on their faces.

"Now, you all need to study. In the meantime I'm going to make the rounds to bug the rest of the class, so they study more. Do not leave." The blonde girl threatened her fellow students with a death glare. "Not until Negi-sensei is satisfied that you've made improvement tonight."

With that imperious declaration, she gently put Negi back on the ground and marched off. In the distance, they could already hear her ringing the bell for one of her classmate's dorm rooms and shouting demands for them to study more.

"She crazy, aru." Ku Fei-san stated with a shiver.

"She is right that we do need to study more though," Ayase-san said with a bored shrug.

"Studying isn't going to make a miracle happen," Asuna-san whined. "And nothing less than a miracle will let any of us Baka-Rangers do well in the exams."

This was met with despondent nods from the rest of the so-called Baka-Rangers, which Negi rather belated finally realized must be the worst academic performers in the class.

 _I guess I'm a bit of a baka too._ Negi thought to himself with an amused grin.

"Negi-kun! Now's not the time to smile!" Sasaki-san said in a desperate sounding wail. "You've gotta have some kinda trick we can use, don't you? Something that will let us do better?"

 _There isn't some magical trick to, well, yes there are quite a few. That's cheating though! Do not encourage that, Negi!_ Negi chided himself ruthlessly.

Cheating never got anyone anywhere.

"Maybe a magic scroll of intelligence boosting or some such?" Nagase-san said jokingly.

"N-nothing like that." Negi replied nervously, suddenly worried that the tall brown haired girl knew his secret identity as a mage.

"Negi-sensei might not," Ayase-san said with a thoughtful rub of her chin. "But _I_ might."

* * *

"So this Book of Melchizedek is real? It's a bonafide magical grimoire that can enhance the intelligence of anyone who reads it?" Konoka-san asked curiously as she, Negi, the Baka-Rangers and Ayase's friends from the Library Exploration Club, Haruna-san and Miyazaki-san, traversed the mysterious depths of the Academy's primary library complex.

"So the rumors claim," Haruna-san replied with a smirk as she skillfully leapt across a gap between the massive bookshelves, the tops of which they were using as a footpath.

"I-Is cheating truly the best option?" Negi asked questioningly. He felt very nervous. This was the very thing he was trying to prevent by blocking off his magic.

"Considering the circumstances, it's probably our only option." Ayase-san reasoned.

"I highly doubt that, Miss Lazybones." Konoka-san teased.

"Studying might help Yue-san," Nagase-san chimed in. "But I know it won't help me. Not enough anyways. This is our best bet."

"Agree with Kaede, aru." Ku-Fei-san nodded in agreement.

"Is that a rock hewn passage!?" Asuna-san shouted incredulously as they neared the end of the bookshelf path. "Why is something like _that_ down here?"

" _Hey, careful down there. One misstep and you could lose a hand. Or pinkie toe. Or an ear."_ Haruna-san cheerfully announced over the radio from where she was bringing up the rear.

"T-The Library Island is ancient, Asuna-san," Miyazaki-san provided a more helpful answer. "Some sections were fashioned out of the island's caves in ancient times. Most have been upgraded though."

"So the fact that the style looks like something out of ancient Mediterranean ruins is because whoever redesigned the old cave section was a fan of that style?" Konoka-san asked.

"Yup," Haruna-san said with a smile as she swapped places with Miyazaki-san. "Apparently, someone in the last century or two was a total Hellenistic fanboy."

"Where did they find the money to do all this?" Asuna-san asked with a awed stare at the intricately carved reliefs that were interspersed throughout the rock passage lined with niches hollowed out of the stone to serve as bookshelves.

 _Donations form Mundus Magicus._ Negi thought but knew better than to voice out.

"I think Oji-chan said bake sales." Konoka-san asked tapped her chin in thought.

"That lot of cupcakes." Ku Fei-san gaped.

"I think she was joking, Ku Fei." Nagase-san replied with a shake of her head.

"Rumor has it that mysterious donors provided the money." Ayase-san who was at the head of their little expedition said as she looked up from the map that she'd been using to guide them through Library Island's depths. "And we're almost there. It should just be at the end of this passage."

"That's awfully convenient." Negi noted skeptically. "I mean it wasn't exactly hard to reach here."

"Didn't you almost fall off the path just now?" Sasaki-san asked with a genuinely confused tilt of her head. "How was it easy?"

"Negi-kun is right," Ayase-san said with a frown. "It _is_ too easy. For something as valuable as this book is supposed to be, I'd have expected it to be hidden deeper in the depths. Something's not right."

" **And you're correct young lady!"** A booming, distorted voice shouted as a section of the roof behind them pulled to the side and a golem that filled up the length and breadth of the passage blocked their path back whilst simultaneously cutting Miyazaki-san and Haruna-san, who had been in the rear, off from the rest of the group. The two tried to scramble around it, but the golem swung one of its massive fists in their direction and forced them to back off.

 _Why is there an active golem down here?!_ Negi screamed in his mind. Never again. He would never again seal his magic. Oh this was a mistake! He should have never allowed them to come down here either! And- oh the golem was telling them something.

" **-So to claim the precious Book of Melchizedek, you all must first pass my test.** " The broad chested humanoid golem said in its booming voice.

At he finished speaking, their surroundings began to morph. The walls on either side of the main group suddenly receded, revealing a cavernous drop. At the same time the floor ahead of them fell away into the ominous pit leaving only a narrow path to a patch of stone that had risen out of the gloom below. It had a setup that wouldn't have been out of place on a quiz show, including five podiums with built in buzzers and a large screen which was running through a series of sample questions.

_T-this does not make any sense. A quiz on modern Japanese? And what's going to be tested in the upcoming exams no less? What's going on here!?_

Truly the architect of this golem was as devious as could be.

"This is suspiciously appropriate." Ayase-san stated as she looked between the test and the golem with suspicious, narrowed eyes.

" **The test shapes itself to the user.** " The golem explained with a shrug. " **There's no more to it than that.** "

Very devious.

"Negi, stay here." Asuna-san ordered as she began cautiously crossing the path to the 'game area'. "If you cross over, who knows what kind of hard questions will come up."

"You too, Konoka-san." Ayase-san said apologetically as she too began walking over.

"The podiums are colored coded to match our Baka-Ranger codenames." Nagase-san observed. "I guess it means they want all five of us to play?"

" **Indeed.** " The golem replied." **You five are the ones who seek the Book and thus it is you five which must face my challenge."**

"Ku Fei never back down from challenge," the Chinese girl said confidently as she too crossed the narrow path across the chasm.

"I guess I've gotta go too," Sasaki-san said nervously as she followed the others.

 _Come on girls,_ Negi begged as he watched them try to answer the various questions. _I know you covered these in class. Please remember!_

It was nerve-racking to watch. Honestly, Negi had never felt this nervous before!

"Ganbatte everyone!" Haruna-san cheered from her spot behind the golem. "I know you can do it!"

"F-Fighto!" Miyazaki-san cheered.

"We have faith in you!" Konoka-san said, adding her own encouragement to the mix.

Negi and the three girls watched with bated breath as the Baka-Rangers struggled through round after round of increasingly tougher questions that they quickly realized weren't limited to just Japanese but _every_ subject that the girls were taking for the exams. When it came to an English question, Negi almost felt like shouting out the answer but an ominous creaking from the golem as it shifted its head to glare at him stole his voice.

He settled for biting at his finger nails nervously.

Eventually though the girls made it and the questions stopped coming. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end to the test.

" **And that concludes the preliminary round of the test."** The golem declared as the screen blanked out. " **Now it is time to proceed to the** _ **real**_ **test. The sudden jeopardy round.** "

"What!? That's not fair! We already beat your silly test!" Asuna-san roared defiantly, voicing the irritation all her fellow Baka-Rangers felt.

" **You don't make the rules, young lady.** " The golem rebutted sternly. " **I do. And I say we do a sudden jeopardy round! So we're going to do it!"**

Asuna-san looked ready to keep arguing but Haruna-san quickly cut in.

"Asuna! Maybe you shouldn't be defying the giant golem keeping us hostage?" The green haired girl said, reminding everyone of the true state of the situation.

" **Ohohoho! At least one of you lot has some sense.** "

"Okay fine," Asuna-san said with an annoyed huff. "Let's just do it."

" **Then are you ready for your first question?** "

The Baka-Rangers exchanged a look and nodded as one.

" **Last week Hayato-san earned 21,000 yen for a 30-hour week. What would he have earned for a 40-hour week?** "

The Baka-Rangers looked stumped and stared at the golem in horrified shock. Their silence filled Negi with nothing but dread.

 _One of you, any of you! Answer, please!_ The mage begged inwardly.

"The answer is um… twenty, un, seven thousand yen!" Sasaki-san shouted excitedly.

"No~! It's 28,000! Twenty-eight thousand!" Ayase-san corrected hurriedly.

Sasaki-san counted on her fingers and gasped in horror, "Ah! I forgot my answer mid-sentence!"

" **Sorry girls, but I only accept the first answer given and it's… WRONG!** " The golem shouted and drew the twin swords it had strapped to its back. " **Time to pay the price.** "

"We don't think so!" Nagase-san shouted as she leapt at the golem alongside Ku Fei, only to be shot out of the air by beams of magical energy that the construct shot out of its eyes and were sent falling down the pit.

"Kaede! Ku Fei!" Asuna-san shouted in shock.

She wasn't the only one thrown by the sudden turn for the worse.

"N-No!" Miyazaki-san gasped, trying to reach for them futilely.

"Not on my watch!" Haruna-san shouted as she pulled out a wand form a pocket of her pants and leveled it at the golem. " _Sagitta Magica._ "

Her spell failed though and all that emerged from her wand was a pulse of weak, harmless light.

" **Better luck next time, Saotome-chan.** " The golem said, sounding almost sympathetic even as it swung its massive blades and cut the rock holding the game area up, causing it and the remaining Baka-Rangers fall into the darkness below even as the girls screamed helplessly.

"Girls! I'm coming!" Negi exclaimed as he jumped into the abyss. The rush of air that smacked his face was as unkind as the drop was long and deep. As the girls screamed, he himself did as well, and tried to move closer to them.

Above him, he vaguely heard Konoka-san say something about this going too far and that she wasn't letting her friends go down there without her before he heard her voice cry out as she too joined their descent.

A plummet that seemed unending as they fell further and further into the earth. It seemed they had been falling forever before they finally saw a tiny flicker of light below them. It rapidly grew closer until suddenly out of the abyss there emerged a large lake in a cavern illuminated by what Negi sensed was magic that was surrounded by a tropical beach dotted with bookshelves half buried in the sand.

Seriously, what was with this library?!

* * *

"That was too much Oji-chan!" Konoka-san said hotly as she glared at the golem that Haruna now realized must be one of the Dean's Zenki or Goki familiars.

"Seriously, asking the Robotics Club to build you that toy is outrageous enough but doing this to students though? Don't make me call Oba-chan!"

_...Robotics Club, right._

" **I have no idea what you refer to, random child.** "

"Oh cut the act, Oji-chan." Konoka-chan said, her glare intensifying. "I pretty much know what you plan and I'm not standing for it. If you're going to force them to undergo intensive revision down in whatever place you've set up for them then I'm joining them."

" **I've no problem with that. Random child I am not related to. I am a golem.** "

"Good, because you don't have a say in the matter." Konoka-san said defiantly as she turned and without any hesitation threw herself into the pit.

The golem sighed in resignation at that before turning to face Haruna and Nodoka, thankfully sheathing its swords in the process though it didn't make it all that less intimidating.

"This just got so awkward." Haruna winced, taking a step back. Nodoka following her lead.

"Now then," the golem said in the Dean's normal voice. "What should I do with you two, huh?"

"Let us go rescue our friends?" Haruna suggested hopefully, a weak smile on her face.

"I think not," the old man said with a chuckle. "How about I drive you two out of here instead. Can't have you interfering with the others' little study camp can we?"

"Uh, G-Gakuenchou-sama," Nodoka asked nervously. "What do you mean by drive us out?"

"Oh? This!" With that the golem reached out and punched the ground directly in front of the two girls and caused them to run away from it in terror.

They continued desperately fleeing from it till they were all the way outside the Library complex altogether, the familiar showing up to hound them every time they tried to so much as detour from the way out or even to take a break. Thankfully, it had _finally_ given up the chase once they'd exited the building's doors. It watched them for a moment, making sure they wouldn't turn back before finally proceeding to disappear among the stacks.

 _Stupid golem! Stupid Goki or Zenki, or whatever he's using!_ Haruna growled in her head. If Onee-sama was here, she'd have blasted the thing to smithereens. _I could do that too. I just needed some time to chant._

"We need to call Onee-sama!" Haruna declared as she caught her breath from their epic escape. "She'll definitely know how to fix this."

"B-but what could Ranma-san do here?" Nodoka asked skeptically.

"I dunno," Haruna admitted as she pulled out her phone. "But Onee-sama will."

She always did.

* * *

Ranma was spending the evening studying for the upcoming exams in the dorm's canteen, which had been opened up as a study hall in the lead up to the aforementioned assessments. As was the norm since the latter had transferred into Mahora, the redhead was joined by her best friend Ucchan.

The two girls were quietly working through some maths practices when Ranma's phone vibrated in her pocket. Fishing it out, she let out a sigh, half relieved and half exasperated, at seeing it was a call from her foster sister.

"Haruna?" Ucchan asked knowingly.

Ranma had of course shared with her best friend her annoyance at her sister running off to do who knew what in Library Island so close to the exams. She'd said that Negi-sensei would be accompanying them but that had inspired more, not less, worry.

Nodding in answer to the brunette's question, the cursed girl answered the call in a quiet whisper.

"Haruna? What happened?"

" _Onee-sama, it's terrible! I need your help! Wait! How did you know something happened?_ "

"Why else would you be calling?" Ranma replied with a roll of her eyes.

If everything was going well, Haruna would have saved the tale of her latest misadventure till the next morning then regale her with it over breakfast, with additional exaggerations. It was what she usually did, even on the rare occasions where she'd managed to drag Ranma herself along for the ride in the first place.

" _You know me too well, Onee-sama._ " Haruna replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Of course," Ranma said with certainty. "I wouldn't be your Onee-sama if I didn't. Now tell me what's wrong."

" _Um, so it's like this…_ " Haruna said as she launched into a recounting of all the escapades that she'd endured tagging along with the Baka-Rangers and Negi-sensei's crazy idea to recover a intelligence boosting magical tome so as to do well in the upcoming exam.

"...Of course our Sensei would do that. Why else would he think it's smart idea to drag his students out in search of a panacea for ignorance." Ranma said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose to ward off the building headache she was getting just listening to this madness.

She'd known that they were going to do something stupid. But obviously she'd underestimated the depths of Sensei and the Baka-Rangers' foolishness.

" _To be fair, Yue-chi was really into it."_

"And you wonder why I poke fun at her. And of course she swept the rest of the Baka-Rangers into it." Ranma observed with a sigh. "And where was Negi-sensei throughout all of this? If things went as badly as you say it did, why didn't he use his magic? He wouldn't stand a chance against the Dean of course, but shouldn't he have at least tried?"

" _Um, I think he might have sealed his magic away? I'm not sure but I think Asuna-san mentioned something like that?_ "

Ranma's jaw just fell open in shock. _Of all the stupidest things to do! He's powerless and he_ still _took his students into a potentially dangerous place? What was he thinking?_

"Ran-chan," Ucchan asked looking concerned. "Everything okay?"

Ranma held up a finger, asking for a minute and Ucchan subsided, though she continued to look worried.

"Ugh, just… just stay where you are and I'll be there soon." Ranma told her sister, thoroughly fed up with the situation.

"' _Kay! ...Love you, Onee-sama."_

"I love you too, Haruna." Ranma dryly replied and hung up with a tired sigh. She turned to Ucchan and said, "Sensei just got the Baka-Rangers and Konoka-san trapped in the bowels of Library Island. I'm gonna meet up with Haruna and see if I can rescue them. Want to come?"

"Definitely," Ucchan replied as she stood and began packing her study materials. "Just let me go grab my sword."

_Sword? Since when did Ucchan use a sword?_

* * *

"Um, Haruna," Nodoka asked curiously as they both sat on a bench in the park just outside the extensive building that housed the library that earned Library Island its name. "I heard you mention magic just now to Ranma-san. What was that about?"

"You overhead that, huh?" Haruna said, as she sweat bullets.

 _Shit! I let it slip! What should I do now? What to do!?_ The greenette thought to herself, her mind going overdrive as she went over the consequences of what she'd done. _I could end up an ermine for this! Or worse! But then again… Is Nodoka knowing about magic really such a bad thing? I mean, if she knew, like properly knew, then that would open possibilities wouldn't it?_

"So it's really real?" Nodoka asked, her voice full of wonder. Little stars coming from her eyes beneath those bangs of hers.

If she wasn't so stressed, Haruna might have marveled at how Nodoka seemed to trust her so readily on the matter but as it was, she was a little preoccupied.

 _I might as well go for broke._ The younger Saotome sister decided. _If I play my cards right, this might even be a good thing. Y-Yeah, totally okay._

"Yeah," Haruna replied, trying to act cool even as she crossed her fingers and hoped she wasn't condemning herself to a term as a little furry creature. How would she draw if she became an ermine?! "It's a family thing. We're not supposed to let anyone know who don't already know beforehand. So it's a kind of family secret, I guess?"

"Um, what happens t-to people who find out?" Nodoka asked with a nervous gulp.

"Depends," Haruna shrugged as nonchalantly as she could while breaking out in a cold sweat. "Mostly, they get memory wiped and the perpetrator gets turned into a ermine as punishment for a while."

"That's-"

"Silly? I know, but it's the punishment." A very dark and cruel punishment in her humble opinion. _Gah! Onee-sama's going to scold me for sure!_

"So, um, well you get into trouble?"

"Not if you become a magician too." Haruna suggested, her fingers crossed behind her back as she prayed her gamble would pay off.

"I-It can be learned? I would l-like that! Very much!" Nodoka said earnestly, her fists tight against her chest as she leaned in close to Haruna.

"I'll pass you some texts later," Haruna promised, holding her hands up. "Onee-sama has a whole library of them. But right now, we need to focus on rescuing the others and we need to wait for Onee-sama to help us."

"O-Okay," Nodoka replied, sounding chastised and disappointed. She looked adorable, just like a puppy who had been denied a treat.

"Well, lucky you that I'm here already aren't I?" Onee-sama said as she jumped down from a branch of the tree that overlooked their little bench.

"Onee-sama!?" Haruna shouted as she jumped out of her seat in shock, hands in the air. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you promised to teach Nodoka-san magic," Onee-sama said looking at Haruna sternly. "A promise I'll hold you to. You clear?"

"Crystal," Haruna replied, gulping nervously. She couldn't help but turtle down at the stern gaze.

"R-Ranma-san, Ukyo-san, how did you get here so fast?" Nodoka asked, nervously.

 _Huh? Ukyo-san is here too?_ Haruna thought as she finally managed to break away from her sister's intense glare to spot the okonomiyak themed ninja. Except instead of sporting the various pancake making themed weapons that Haruna knew she utilised, she was instead carrying a katana of all things.

"Ukyo-san, what's with the sword?"

"Your sister asked the same question, Haruna-san. And like I told her it's just something new I'm trying out."

Haruna shot her sister a confused look, and just got a grudging nod in return. _Just go with it? Are you really sure that's a good idea Onee-sama?_

Having read the unspoken question from her continuing look, her shorter sister just shrugged. This was her nonverbal way of saying, _I know, but it's her choice. There's nothing we can do about it._

The greenette wasn't too happy with that but conceded the point. Besides they had more urgent things on their plate to worry about right now.

"Ran-chan, do you mages really turn criminals into ermines?" Ukyo-san asked suddenly, drawing the siblings out of their silent conversation. "I thought that was just a joke."

"No, it's real." Ranma confirmed. "It's the standard punishment for revealing the secret of magic. You spend some time as an ermine."

"That's-"

"Silly? Like Haruna said, it is a little silly. But think about it, ermines are small animals so they are easy to house and feed. So turning criminals into ermines for a while saves a lot of resources. Plus if they escape, being ermines, they can't exactly cause much trouble. And don't get me started on predators."

"I hadn't thought of it that way." Haruna admitted, feeling a pit of worry in her belly. "My big sister is totally a genius."

Onee-sama blushed at being called that like she always did when she was reminded that she was a fully accepted and deeply loved member of the Saotome household. Haruna didn't really get it, but Mama had explained that Onee-sama was still all kinds of shocked that _anyone_ would want her as family even after all these years. So while she had gotten familiar with getting called Onee-sama, anything else tended to remind her that she was wanted and that threw her off.

Every time this happened, Haruna wanted to kill the person who made her precious Onee-sama feel like this. And to smother her in hugs to let her know just how very much she _was_ wanted. She couldn't really do the former, but she definitely could do the latter and quickly pulled her embarrassed elder sister into a tight hug.

"You're the best big sister anyone could ever want," Haruna reassured her tiny red faced Onee-sama. "The absolute best."

"Right!" Onee-sama squeaked and coughed into her fist, still embraced in the hug. "Now, let's go in and investigate."

"Um, shouldn't we plan first?" Nodoka suggested hesitantly. "I mean what if that golem shows up again?"

As if drawn by the shy girl's voice, she'd barely finished speaking before the earth between them and the library building rumbled and from what looked like a swirling whirlpool of mud, a massive animated statue of a knight stepped out to bar their way.

 _Way to jinx us, Nodoka!_ Haruna thought with a sigh.

* * *

Ranma frowned as she looked up at the towering golem. Magic wafted off of it in waves and it stood stalwart before them with its stone blade stinking into the ground.

_Judging by the magic signature… This is one of the Dean's Goki (protective demon)._

"It's one of the Dean's familiars," the petite mage informed the rest of the group.

They all breathed a sigh of relief at the news, but this positive feeling was shattered when without so much as a word the golem like construct drew its earthen sword and took a wild swing at them.

Thankfully, Ucchan's experiments with swordplay seemed to have paid off and in a display of impressive skill she parried the much larger blade with her own. Steel grinded against the stone, sending sparks flying.

Even as the massive knight used its vastly superior weight to attempt to push Ucchan back, she kept her footing, using Ki to enhance herself. She winced however as she realised this wasn't doing her any good.

Leaping into the air, she let the now unsupported blade of the knight smash into the ground and unbalance it. Despite being in mid-air, Ucchan exploited the opening. Gripping her blade firmly, she swung down as her jump took her past the Goki.

" _Ryūtsuisen_ (Dragon Hammer Flash)!"

Her Ki enhanced blade bit into the golem's right shoulder, shattering a good chunk of it in an explosion of dust and debris. The brunette leapt away immediately but not before the Goki's left fist lashed out in Ucchan's direction.

"Ah!" The kunoichi cried out as she was smacked and sent tumbling along the ground. She didn't stay down long though and with her blade still in her hand she quickly jumped to her feet once more. The only sign of any discomfort she might have suffered from the powerful blow being a small wince.

Seeing that, for whatever reason, the Dean was playing it rough, Ranma decided to join the fray.

_Venator Sphaeram (Hunter Aura)._

_Armis Testa (Shell armor)._

_Volant (fly)._

With her buffs in place, the cursed mage switched to the offensive.

" _Cete Spiritus (Whale Breath)!_ " Ranma cast even as she flew behind the knight, unleashing a powerful pressurised water jet that slammed into the Goki's back and sent it stumbling even as it also drilled a hole into its earthen body.

In reply, the knight spun around with surprising grace considering its size and drew a brace of throwing knives that it proceeded to throw at her. With _Volant_ active, it was child's play to avoid the initial throw. Unfortunately though, the Dean must have known that which was why they had a homing effect.

 _I wonder how he managed that? I'll have to ask him._ Ranma mused even as she used a brace of _Sagitta Magica_ (Magic Arrow) to take out the pesky things. Meanwhile, Ucchan had found herself locked in a sword fight with the knight who in contrast to its earlier moves was suddenly exhibiting a considerable amount of skill.

"E-Excuse me!" Nodoka-san called out even as the battle continued to rage. "Um, sir, isn't this child endangerment?"

The golem paused at this statement. Its two opponents exchanging a look at this before following suit.

"Miyazuki-kun, isn't fainting in shock?" The Dean's voice hummed from the golem. "Did you girls perchance inform her about the existence of magic? Hm?"

"Um, yes." Ranma admitted, feeling a little off balance with the sudden shift in the tone of events. Where'd the big fight go? How weird. "Haruna was worried about our classmates and called me in, she clued Nodoka-san while she waited for Ucchan and I to show up."

"I see, I see. We'll have to see about wiping her memory later."

"Wipe my memory!?" Nodoka-san cried out in alarm. "But Haruna said-"

"Apologies, Miyazaki-kun but it's standard procedure."

"I have a counter proposal!" Haruna declared boldly.

"Hm?"

"I've promised to teach Nodoka magic," her foster sister declared proudly. Obviously quite pleased with having gamed the system.

"That is a smart workaround," the Dean acknowledged. "But not smart enough. After all, there is no guarantee that Miyazaki-san will ever become a mage."

"We promi-" Ranma begun, only to be cut off.

"Promises about something as important as this aren't worth the breath it takes to make them."

"T-Then I'll make Nodoka my partner!" Haruna boldly offered, her cheeks glowing pink while Nodoka-san looked confused.

"Is that so?" The Dean asked, bemused even as he slammed the knight's sword into the ground and used it as a medium for his magic which proceeded to carve out the required spell circle for a Pactio, the magical contract that bound mages and their partners.

The sight of the magical circle alone was enough to repulse Ranma, but she held her response in as much as she manage.

"Now if you two ladies would step into the circle?"

All eyes turned to the shy bookworm, who had a strangely determined look on her face.

"Doing this, whatever this is, will mean I get to learn magic?" She asked, as she confidently stepped into the ritual circle.

"Yes," the Dean confirmed.

"Then what do I need to do next?"

"You'll need to kiss Haruna-san. On the lips." The Dean explained, his voice betraying his amusement at the situation. "It'll seal a provisional magical contract between you two and would make you a magical thus exempt to any consequences for learning the secret of magic."

Nodoka-san's face blossomed into a bright shade of red, but she didn't falter. "I-I see. Haruna-san, hurry up. N-Now!"

On Haruna's part, she just shot Ranma a confused look.

 _How would I know? She's_ your _friend._ Ranma communicated back with a shrug. What she didn't say was that Nodoka-san was seeming a little _too_ into this. _Should I be worried? It's looking like I might need to come up with a shovel talk soon._

Unaware of her big sister's worries, Haruna hesitantly joined Nodoka-san in the ritual circle. The moment she was, the greenette's faced was seized by the other girl and pulled into an awkward but aggressive kiss. Looking on, Ranma's heckles raised at her sister's first kiss being effectively stolen like this but was helpless to do anything even as light bloomed from the magic circle to indicate the sealing of the Pactio.

"Oooh." Ucchan awed at the sight.

 _There's nothing to 'ooh' about._ Ranma thought bitterly. _Pactios aren't good things. Not always._

And whether this Pactio would be remained to be seen.

 _Pactios are a risky businesses, since it can give the Magister Magi so much power over their Minister Magi. There's too much room for abuse like what Genma did to me._ The reminder almost sent Ranma skittling into a dark place, so she forced herself away from thinking about the topic as much as possible.

"Oh, she passed out." Haruna said exasperatedly as she caught the suddenly limp form of her Ministra Magi as a Pactio card materialized and gently fluttered down to the ground beside them.

"Congratulations, Haruna-kun, Miyazaki-kun," the Dean said even as his Goki applauded. "Ohoho."

Ranma could easily picture the old geezer stroking his beard.

"How can you say that?" Ranma hissed at the old man. "You just forced two people to enter into a binding magical contract without even fully knowing what it's about."

"Pactios aren't as serious as you seem to think, Ranma-kun," the Dean countered. "This was only a ''provisional contract' after all and can be severed at any time by either party."

"Besides, memory modifications might cause brain damage and Nodoka's brain is too precious to scramble!" Haruna added, her cheeks still pink, "Like the Dean said it's only a provisional contract. Not permanent Onee-sama."

"That's not-"

"Ran-chan, I honestly don't see the problem." Ucchan chimed in, "Why are you so upset?"

"Yeah," Haruna cried out. "I mean it's not like I really have much use for all that magical power I inherited anyways, so why not lend it to my friend?

"Whatever," Ranma said letting the matter go, she knew a lost cause when she saw one. This didn't stop her face from scrunching up in angry distaste as she turned to looked at the Dean's Goki.

"On another note," the redhead addressed him coldly. "Aren't you worried about the group that fell down the hole? I mean, your granddaughter is down there!"

"Ho ho ho, please, Ranma-kun. I know what I'm doing. Those girls wanted an easy way out. I'm just _forcing_ them to do things the proper way."

The redhead bit her lip at this. It stirred too many uncomfortable memories for her. Memories of Genma using similar logic and equally over the top plans to force Ranma to learn one martial art technique or the other.

 _It isn't the same!_ Ranma told herself as she clenched and unclenched her fists and took a calming breath. _The Dean isn't a monster like_ that man _. He's doing this for their own good._

Wasn't Genma doing the same? At least, by the logic of his insane mind?

Realizing that this line of thinking would lead to madness, Ranma forcibly shuttered everything to do with it. Instead, she chose to focus on the situation at hand.

"So there's no way you'll let us through to go rescue them?"

"Not until the time is right." The Dean confirmed with a stately nod of the knight's head.

 _We can't beat him._ Ranma admitted to herself. _Even if we take out this Goki, he'd just send another, stronger one. We have no choice…_

"Retreat!" Ranma shouted as she began flying away.

Reluctantly taking the hint, the others followed after her. Ucchan and Haruna carrying the insensate Nodoka-san between them as they did.

Behind them the Dean let out a full belly laugh at the sight and had his Goki stab its sword once more into the ground, shattering the ground in a wave that just failed to catch the landbound girls. Something that was obviously deliberate.

_Tch, stupid old geezer._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Well, it seems Ranma has to deal with some craziness in her life. A sister can just turn anything into a mess. At least in Ramna's case.
> 
> Nameless: Long chapter huh? At least by this fic's standards. Hope you guys like the uncharacteristic length. It allowed us to cover a lot of stuff.
> 
> As for the hate boner Ranma has for Pactios, hope we explained it a little bit from her line of thinking. It makes sense in a way, at least from her jaded point of view.
> 
> Nameless: A reviewer on the Ukyo interlude chapter commented that they think giving her the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū makes her overpowered. I hope however that this chapter explains why that's not a case in this fic. Ryūtsuisen would have killed a normal person, but it barely scathed the Dean's Goki. Now imagine if she used it against someone greatly stronger like Fate. Do you think that even unleashing the full strength of the sword style would faze him or opponents of his caliber? Taking that into account, giving her Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū might still leave her underpowered!
> 
> Besides, sword girls in Negima are a must. And using a copy of Setsuna's style (which seems to be one of the big ones) felt boring. So why not have fun with it? XD
> 
> Nameless: So we changed up the Pactio pairings and made their formation, at least in this case, more consensual. It's more Politically Correct and I know that'll annoy some people. It definitely made me scratch my head since it's such a departure from Negima canon's take on things. That said, Pactios are a major commitment and mutual consent should really be sought before forming one.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace out my peeps!


	10. Dancing with the Golems

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Ten: Dancing with the Golems**

**Beta:**

* * *

" _Left! He's coming from the left!_ " Nodoka-san shouted urgently over the conference call and through the earpiece that Ranma and Ucchan were wearing.

"We see it," Ucchan said as she used her skill with battōjutsu to deal the incoming Goki (protective demon) a gaping wound in the chest of the hoplite shaped golem.

" _There's one more! It's leaping!"_

"I've got it." Ranma shouted as a large Zenki (offensive demon) shaped like a Okinawan shisa (Okinawan version of the Chinese Guardian Lion) leapt over its humanoid partner to lash out at Ucchan. " _Sagitta Hystrix (Porcupine Arrow)_!"

Her spell launched a barrage of bolts akin to porcupine quills that stabbed themselves deep into the feline Zenki even as the force of their impact sent it flying back. _Hopefully, the spines will keep it disabled. I did target its joints…_

The shisa didn't make a reappearance, so Ranma was pretty sure her tactic had worked. Unfortunately, it was just replaced by another Zenki instead.

" _Ranma-san, below you!_ " Nodoka-san shouted urgently over the phone.

Thankful that she had her _Volant_ (fly) spell active as a standard part of her combat buffs, Ranma managed to fly away just as the floor under her exploded to reveal a giant badger shaped golem.

_I know he's got years of experience, along with being the head of the Kansai Magic Association, but come on! He's just playing with us!_ Ranma snarled in her mind as the sheer casualness of the Headmaster even as he fought off their attempts to rescue their classmates pricked at her pride.

Even with Nodoka-san's Pactio artifact, Diarium Ejus. A magical diary that could read the minds of a given target. They had yet to successfully break through despite repeated attempts over the past few days.

" _Oh no! Ranma-san, Ukyo-san, get out of there! He's swarming you!_ " Nodoka-san said suddenly, even as Ukyo finally took the head off the hoplite Goki and Ranma finished off the badger Zenki with a _Cete Spiritus_ (Whale Breath) whose water jet blasted a gaping hole through its clay head.

"Shouldn't you girls be studying?" A crow shikigami squawked indignantly.

"Not until we rescue our friends," Ranma shouted at the normal sized familiar even as she shot off a brace of _Sagitta Magica_ (Magic Arrow) that tore it to pieces.

"You do know they're perfectly fine, right? Honest." Another crow said from where it was circling overhead.

They _did_ know that. Nodoka-san's artifact only needed a person's name to read minds and so they're been able to peek into the situation that the Baka-Rangers and co. had found themselves in through their thoughts. It wasn't exactly unpleasant… That being the only reason Ranma didn't feel like ripping the Dean's head off. But they were still stuck underground with no way out! And forced to study!

Ranma could not condone anyone forcing people to do things. Even if it was for their own good. Reason with them and convince them to do it, yes, but tricking and manipulating them like the Dean had done? The redhead simply could not allow that, not after what she'd been forced to endure.

"Stuff it, you old geezer." Ucchan snorted as she struck the ground in front of her with her sword and sent a barrage of debris flying at the circling crow, knocking it out of the air.

" _They're almost there!_ " Nodoka-san called out urgently, reminding the two fighters of the imminent threat.

Exchanging a frustrated look, Ranma and Ucchan poured on the speed as they fled from the library. Behind them a literal army of golems of various shapes and sizes boiled out from behind the innumerable stacks as they pursued them.

_We'll have to chalk this up as another failure._ Ranma lamented as she flew out of the building, the doors of which slammed shut behind her and Ucchan as if in a final insult, leaving them alone to catch their breaths in the blissfully cooling night air.

"Does he have a 3D printer or something for these things?" Ucchan asked, panting and wiping sweat from her brow. "Seriously, I think I saw some old school mascots in there."

"I think he might be using the Library Island as a place to store all the shikigami he's collected or created over the years," Ranma reasoned as she landed and dispelled her buffs. "He's just throwing them at us now because it's convenient."

" _Is he some kind of hoarder?_ " Haruna asked, apparently deciding it was okay to butt in now that they didn't need Nodoka-san's real time support.

"Looks like?"

" _D-dammit!_ " Nodoka-san swore suddenly. Huh, that was rare of the usually softspoken girl.

" _What happened Nodoka?_ " Haruna asked her friend.

" _The Dean! He's turned his golems, all of them, to autonomous mode._ " The mind reader explained. " _I won't be able to read their movements anymore_."

"That sneaky old coot," Ucchan said with a shake of her head. "If he wasn't being all crazy about this, I'd be impressed."

"Looks like its a bust for now." The redhead sighed, "Let's regroup and recharge."

"And go back to the drawing board." The chestnut haired girl joined her in a sigh as they started to head back to their 'HQ' back in the Saotome sisters' dorm room. Ucchan was wincing a little as they walked and Ranma felt her pain, some of the hits they'd taken smarted.

_Maybe I_ should _blow this matter up and report the Dean to the_ _International Magical Association?_ Ranma thought as she considered their options. _Sure everyone are safe down there, but keeping them locked up like this just because they wanted to cheat on their exams is outrageous!_

" _I know what you're thinking Onee-sama,_ " Haruna said over the phone suddenly. " _But let's give it a little while more. You_ know _what'll happen if the International gets involved."_

"Hmph!" Ranma huffed, a warm feeling fluttering in her chest at how well her foster sister knew her.

Haruna did have a point too. If the International got involved, there would be investigations, hearings and all that shebang. It would be a troublesome mess that Ranma honestly didn't want to deal with if she could help it.

_I'm not sure we have a choice though._

* * *

"Are they still studying?" Haruna poked Nodoka-san's shoulder questioningly. "I mean, really?"

"Yeah," Nodoka-san confirmed. "But they're also getting worried that the exams starts tomorrow, so Kaede-san is scouting for a way out."

Haruna stared at her for a few moments before asking again, "No, but really?"

"Haruna-san, yes, I am certain." Nodoka-san frowned at her, a textbook in her hands. "Now look at your reference book."

"...Fine."

"Why are _we_ studying?" Ucchan asked as she looked up from her Japanese reference book. "Shouldn't we be planning on how to break through the Dean's defenses tonight?"

" _I_ am aiming for the top individual scores." Nodoka-san informed Ucchan politely. "Besides, it never hurts to study."

"Really though, it's because we can't exactly do anything at the moment." Ranma chimed in with a more logical answer. "We can't plan anything since we don't know what we'll face tonight. With the Zenki and Goki all in autonomous mode, what we'll end up fighting is entirely up to luck. And it's not like we can attack the Island now, not when it's full of students using it to study for the exams."

Haruna slouched against the table, splaying her arms. "We can only bang our head against the wall so many times I guess. If we can't plan anything ahead of time then we should just wing it."

"I don't like this," Ucchan said with a frown. Thumbing through her reference book.

"Neither do I," Nodoka-san admitted, stopping her reading to fiddle with her bangs. "I feel useless. I have such a powerful artifact from my Pactio but it's not proving as helpful as we hoped."

"Don't sweat it," Ranma reassured the mind reader. "It helped us loads. The Dean's just worked out how to get around it is all. If anyone is to blame, then blame it on me and Ucchan not being strong enough to make use of the advantage you gave us before he came up with a counter."

"Yeah," Ucchan agreed, eying her blade with a look that was a strange mix of frustration and longing. "Damn! I wish I was stronger."

"Don't we all?" Haruna said with a sigh. "I mean, at least you three aren't totally useless like me."

"You're _not_ useless!" Ranma insisted sternly. "Don't call yourself that Haruna."

"Well, I am. At least during this incident." Haruna countered with a sad grumble. "Really wish I wasn't, but I can't deny facts and neither should you, Onee-sama."

"You just haven't found your niche yet."

Haruna's face met the table. "I'd be lucky to have one at this rate."

"I'm sure you will. Eventually." Ucchan told her, still looking at her katana oddly. "It'll just take time."

"Boo, fine." Haruna conceded though she continued her pouting. She flipped the book in front of her, casually spinning a pencil between her fingers. "So do we call it quits until the exams tomorrow? Because we have to sleep some time, Onee-sama."

"No," Ranma said with a determined shake of her head. "We'll try one last time. If we fail again, _then_ I'm calling in the International."

"And will we be awake enough after that to take the exams?" Nodoka-san asked worriedly. "I mean, this whole incident is about pulling our class' grade average up, right? So if we all go to the exams and flunk it because we were exhausted then everything was wasted, wasn't it?"

"You're not wrong," Ranma agreed, as she pulled out a six pack of unfamiliar drinks. "Which is why I bought us these."

"What are those, Ran-chan?"

"Potions," the redhead explained. "Specifically they're stamina potions. We take these before we sit the exams and we'll be in peak shape no matter how tired we were beforehand."

"You think of everything, Onee-sama." Haruna praised. "But don't these cost a pretty penny during exam season. The college student who makes the stuff mentioned it's a hot product at times like this."

"I'll just have Negi-sensei pay me back when all is said and done."

"Isn't that a little mean?" Nodoka-san asked, frowning.

"Not really. If he was a bit more firm, maybe this wouldn't be happening right now." Ranma huffed, crossing her arms angrily.

"Onee-sama, you looking so serious is super cute." Haruna giggled at her, making the elder Saotome flush irritably.

Ucchan's giggling did not help whatsoever.

"Hmph! Whatever," Ranma said huffing in frustration.

_Why is it that every time I try to be serious, people just say I'm cute? Darn it all! This is the worst part of the curse!_

* * *

"So you girls are back again." The Dean said with exasperation as he piloted the same golem that Haruna had described him using when he'd first sent the Baka-Rangers and co. falling into the depths of the Library Island.

_Haruna's right. It looks like nothing more than a crude giant stone soldier. Even those two swords it has look like they were made on the cheap._

"You bet, Dean-sama!" Haruna chirped giddily, "We don't give up so easily!"

"Y-Yeah!" Nodoka-san nodded as she stood a little behind the green haired girl.

"You children do realize that the exams are tomorrow, correct? I could give you detention for this."

"For taking a walk at night?," Ucchan asked with a raised eyebrow while casually walking towards the library building.

"For being past curfew, yes."

"The Academy doesn't have a curfew," Ranma reminded him as she cautiously took a step forward.

"I just started it. Tonight."

"The school charter says you need to give students two weeks notice before you implement changes like that," Haruna told him with a cheeky grin. "So no dice."

"What is wrong with kids these days? Reading the charters… Back in my day, I swear we acted like _children_."

"Haruna-san got bored," Nodoka-san admitted. "There wasn't anything new to read and-"

"And it was even more boring reading it than doing nothing!" Haruna shouted in exasperation. "Seriously, Dean-sama you really should put some effort in making it, I dunno, less dull?"

"Good try, girls!" The golem said as it literally fired its arms like rockets out to either side, barring the way as Ranma and Ukyo tried to sneak pass while it was distracted. "But you'll need to try better than that."

Ranma just shrugged even as she watched with fascination as the rocket arms reattached themselves to the golem.

"It was worth a try?" The redhead offered.

"I suppose it was," the Dean acknowledged. "But enough bantering for tonight. Let's get this over quickly so you lot will manage to get some sleep before the exams, shall we?"

"I couldn't agree more," Ucchan replied as she sunk into a battōjutsu stance.

Ranma just nodded as she cast her buffs and slowly drifted into the air, watching the golem warily whilst simultaneously looking through the corner of her eyes as Haruna and Nodoka-san retreated behind some cover.

"Autonomous mode: On!" The Dean announced as he gave up active control of the golem.

It immediately lashed out with its rocket arms, trying to snag both Ranma and Ucchan in its grasp.

Without even missing a beat, the swordswoman shouted out her technique. " _Ryūsōsen_ (Dragon Nest Flash)!"

In a intense flurry of strikes with her blade, Ucchan unleashed the full force of her sword skill and a good amount of Ki on the rocket, obliterating the weapon - which was apparently largely made out of rock - and reducing it into a cloud of dust.

_Wow! Ucchan's gotten strong._ Ranma observed even as she took out her own rocket with a _Cete Spiritus_.

"Oho! My rocket arms, oh no!" The golem quivered somehow and took a step back. "Whatever will my golem do?"

Okay, now he was just being obnoxious.

If the golem was inconvenienced by the lost of its arms, it didn't look it. In fact, it got mad - if a shikigami could manage that - and began lashing out at them with its laser eyes.

Fortunately, it wasn't exactly quick with the way that it turned its head to sweep its lasers at them, so both of its opponents easily evaded the powerful beams. What they didn't expect though was the way a compartment on its chest opened up to reveal a net launcher that fired its payload at Ucchan.

If the look that Ranma caught of her friend's face was any indication, being targeted just pissed her off. Without even breaking stride in her continued evasion of the lasers, Ucchan swung her blade out and cut the incoming net into pieces.

Ranma took the opportunity presented by its targeting her best friend to fire off a spell. " _Sagitta Mixta_ (Mixed Arrows)!"

Her mixed barrage of a number of the magic arrow variants she'd developed, namely _Equus Calcitrant_ (Horse Kick), _Sagitta Hystrix_ (Porcupine Arrow), and _Sagitta Telam (_ Web Arrow), hit home on the distracted golem. The _Equus Calcitrant_ hit the familiar around hard, causing it to stumble and dealt direct damage. While the _Sagitta Hystrix_ and _Sagitta Telam_ worked together to hinder its movement. The former by impaling its joints while the latter covered it in restraining spider webs.

"Oh, my golem is stuck! However will it respond?" The Dean asked jovially, seemingly unconcerned that his Doki was on the verge of defeat.

Though that thought might have been a little too presumptuous on Ranma's part, as seemingly unfazed by its entanglement, the golem simply leveled the stumps of its arms at the two girls it was fighting. As it did, the stone that covered them started to melt into clay that proceeded to reshape itself into… A pair of scifi cannons? Ranma wasn't sure, this was more Haruna's thing if she were honest.

"Copyright infringement!" Her foster sister cried out in very serious outrage. "How dare you use particle cannons from Battletech to fight an otaku! Heathen! Monster! Baldy!"

"Ha! Says the whippersnapper! Back in my day-!"

"Sacrilege! May you rot in hell!"

"...Young lady, you are being a little cruel here." The Dean pointed out, hurt clear in his voice.

Haruna just continue to spit fire at his soul. Wow, Ranma really had to get Haruna to clean out her mouth, the sheer profanity she was spewing now would get them _both_ grounded for a _month_ if Obaa-san heard her.

Though that was a worry for when she wasn't being forced to evade energy beams being shot at her. Not just the particle beams(?) from its arm mounted cannons either but renewed shots from its eye lasers too.

_With all those scifi weapons maybe Konoka-san was right when she said her grandfather got help from the Robotics Club when building this thing. Crazy stuff like this is their forte. Maybe I should ask Chao-san for a teched up crossbow? Hm, nah. She has steep prices._

While Ranma was busy daydreaming Ucchan had tried to close in and attack the golem. Unfortunately, it seemed to have yet another trick up its metaphorical sleeve. She was just within striking distance having danced around its storm of beam attacks when suddenly the Goki unleashed a powerful electrical surge that hit her with enough force to send her flying back and crash onto the ground in twitching unconsciousness.

"Ucchan!" Ranma shouted worriedly at seeing her best friend's condition.

"Don't worry so much," the Dean assured her. "She's fine. Only unconscious. Well that and a little shocked up."

The old fool had the indecency to chuckle at his bad joke but Ranma was in no mood for humor. She was seeing red.

" **Itami!** " Ranma roared as she flew through the storm of energy beams shot her way to unload a brace of _Sagitta Magica_ (Magic Arrow) pumped full of as much destructive magical power as she could fill them with. The attack did little to the Dean's Goki but it did keep its attention, even as a being from her nightmares manifested itself right behind it.

The dark spectral being was the manifestation of all her childhood woes. All the martial arts prowess that the girl willingly discarded took the form of a panther made of shadows. It was an embodiment of the creature that rotten old bastard that had sired her wished he had.

This ethereal entity was the result of all the help of the magical psychotherapists she had been sent to over the years for her many issues. Working with them, she'd sealed all her feelings she'd had about her childhood abuse into a part of her mind where she could work to overcome it. She had, at least she hoped so, but in the process had created Itami as a result.

A being that at a simple invocation was now at her beck and call.

She didn't know what to feel how over half _her_ lifetime fit into another being, even if it was still technically part of herself. But in that moment, she didn't care.

With a mental command, she had Itami jump onto the golem's back. It obeyed and proceeded to use its Ki enhanced claws to tear into the rocky back with animalistic fury. At the same time, a shadowy male figure detached itself from the feline mass and joined in the fray.

This figure looked like Ranma would have if she was really male and wasn't cursed. And while the feline Itami possessed all the beastial power of the Neko-ken and was empowered by the rage, pain and all the negative emotions she had about her past abuse, this humanoid part of Itami represented all the strength of the other martial arts she'd been forced to learn combined with the cool determination and focus that had been painfully drilled into her as she'd mastered them. It was with these forces that the shadow man, began launching one devastating martial art technique into the golem after another. It faded from time to time, but reappeared almost immediately afterward to continue pressing its attack.

Fists flew, rock shattered, yowls rang in the air as Ki enshrouded claws of raw shadow tore deep gouges into earthen flesh, all whilst Ranma watched. It was transfixing in a way, just watching herself, in some regard, fight as she was raised to. She still didn't enjoy having to use this though.

It was too much of a reminder.

Nevertheless, it proved effective. As it had been caught completely off guard, the golem was helpless as Itami's two halves easily tore its particle cannons to pieces. One with surgical kenpo strikes while the other with the wild, vicious swipes of its claws.

_Guess that leaves me with the head and its lasers._ Ranma thought as she raised her crossbow at the golem's head, watching with a smirk as it struggled to fend off Itami. Its blows utterly useless as they did no damage to the ethereal creature. Even the lasers from its eyes passed through the shadowy entity as if it wasn't there.

"What in the world is this?" The Dean asked flabbergasted by what his golem was suddenly facing.

"I call him Itami." Ranma told him with a frown. "But you'll know it as the thing that'll mark your defeat here today. _Cete Spiritus_!"

Pouring magic into her spell, she sent the most powerful water jet she could muster at the golem's head, knocking it right off in its entirety.

_Ha! Suck it, old man!_ Ranma thought vindictively.

Her sense of victory was short lived though. As she landed to admire her victory, already a spot of haziness was coming over her and she wobbled unsteadily on her feet. Summoning Itami always drained her. Add on the rest of the fighting and she was utterly exhausted.

_Oh, the world's spinning,_ she thought as she fell back with a thump, sensing at the same time that Itami had faded back into the depths of her mind and soul.

_This feels nice._ Ranma thought as her eyes closed of their own accord. _I could use some rest._

The last thing she heard as blissful sleep overtook her were muted cries of her name tickling her ears.

* * *

"Onee-sama's out cold." Haruna-san said as she pulled her sister into a princess carry. She was tiny enough for it Nodoka assumed even as she mused on how cute her sleeping face looked. "How's Ukyo-san?"

"I'll live," Ukyo-san replied for them both as Nodoka struggled to help her to her feet. "Thanks. I can stand on my own. I think."

Nodoka nodded and let the swordswoman try, keeping close just in case. When she was sure that her friend could indeed manage it, she stepped back.

Letting out a tired sigh, the bookworm rubbed her eyes and unclipped the hair clips holding back her bangs.

_Ah, that was better._

Summoning her artifact, she clutched it in her arms, drawing comfort from it. It helped her calm down. Something she needed as her heart was still racing a little.

_This night was crazy._ Nodoka thought as she surveyed the wreckage of the golem that Ranma-san had destroyed. _But it was fun and exciting too. Watching that fight was the most epic thing I've ever seen!_

Though she had no doubt that there was going to be plenty of chances for her to top tonight if the antics that the Saotome sisters got into always ended up like this, which she was pretty sure was closer to the truth than any of them really liked.

_What did I get myself into?_ Nodoka thought as her eyes filled with tears, though she honestly didn't know if they were of happiness or sheer terror.

"You okay?" Ukyo-san asked kindly.

"I-Is this how things usually are?" Nodoka asked nervously.

"Don't know. This was my first adventure too." Ukyo-san winked teasingly.

"...So we're doomed from the start?" She replied cheekily.

That earned her a small giggle. Alright, that's good. Opening her social circle was good.

"So we're retreating, right?" Haruna-san asked as she walked over, her sister cradled carefully in her arms.

"Yeah," Ukyo-san confirmed with a nod. "I'm pretty beat up and Ran-chan is unconscious. There's no way we're getting through to the others tonight."

"So should we call the International?" Nodoka asked. "Ranma-san did say we should do that if we fail."

"Hmmm, that's a tough call. I'm not sure it would be the best solution here. I doubt Dean-sama's going to keep them there for the exams." Haruna-san pondered as she cuddled her sister closer. "What's the situation with the Baka-rangers and co. now? Nodoka, mind checking?"

"Give me a moment," Nodoka replied as she flipped open her artifact and used it to read Negi-sensei's mind.

"Oh! It looks like they've found a way out and is using it to climb out of the Island as we speak," the bookworm informed them happily, summarizing the contents of her artifact. They after all didn't need to know how Negi-sensei found Kaede-san and her ninja skills super cool for finding their escape route.

"If that's the case, then I think we can let this go." Ukyo-san said with a sigh. "There's no point to kicking up a fuss over something that's going to be resolved soon anyways."

"Yeah," Haruna-san agreed. "Nodoka, your vote?"

"I say leave it," Nodoka said after a moment. "I just hope they make it out in time."

This was met with nods from everyone.

"Okay, then it's decided." Haruna-san said with finality. "Let's go home and get some rest. We'll need it if we don't want to feel like crap during the exams."

"Won't those stamina potions help?" Ukyo-san asked as they started on their way back to the dorm.

"They give you the stamina you need, but they don't do anything about the crappy feeling you have from being exhausted." Haruna-san explained.

"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?" Nodoka asked curiously.

"A bit," Haruna replied with a shrug. "But it's kinda a better than nothing deal. It helps, a lot, but it isn't perfect. I used a few when we started middle school for some of my manga deadlines. They _do_ work when needed. Just prepare to feel like roadkill during whatever you're using it for and especially after the effects wear off."

"I'll take all the help I can get." Ukyo-san chimed in. "I feel dead on my feet. A few hours of sleep ain't gonna be enough and I _do_ want to do well in the exams."

"Same," Nodoka replied with a yawn.

Haruna-san just nodded.

The rest of the trip back to the dorm was in silence. Everyone was too tired to waste their breath talking. It was a companionable silence though and Nodoka enjoyed it quite a bit.

_If this is the kind of feeling I'll get for getting involved in Haruna-san's adventures, then maybe it_ is _worth it._ The quiet girl thought to herself as she got ready for bed.

It was the last thought she had for the night as she drifted off to sleep the moment her head met her pillow.

* * *

Negi took a deep breath as they _finally_ made it out of the Library Island's labyrinthine depths. The fresh air was refreshing and liberating in a way that the young boy hadn't really felt before. As safe and relaxing the past week or so had been in the underground cavern, it was nonetheless a prison and he was relieved beyond measure to have escaped it.

"Gosh, that was one crazy trip!" Konoka-san chirped, her usual cheerfulness interrupted by a yawn. She quickly covered her mouth, "Excuse me."

"W-We need to hurry. It's almost time for the exams, girls." Negi informed them.

"No worries, we smart aru!" Ku Fei-san cheered with a wobble in her legs.

Asuna-san nodded, giving a thumbs up and an unlady-like yawn, "We've got this."

Negi swallowed heavily. _I really hope so!_

"Yo Negi-sensei," the unexpected voice of Takamichi called out to the group.

Spinning towards it, Negi found his old friend leaning casually against a lamp post a few feet away.

"Takamichi?! What are you doing here?" Negi asked with a startled gasp.

"I'm here to take you lot to the exam hall, of course." The arts teacher informed them with a grin.

"So Oji-chan sent you?" Konoka-san asked, suspiciously. She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as if evaluating Negi's fellow teacher.

"Something like that," Takamichi replied evasively, glancing at his watch. "Either way, are you lot coming or not? You'll miss the exams if you don't."

"Let's get this over with, I guess." Yue-san said, pursing her lips.

Following behind Takamichi, Negi and his students headed over to Mahora Junior High School but instead of leading them to their classroom as expected they were directed to a spare classroom.

"You'll take your exams here for today," Takamichi informed them as the students took their seats. "You're late after all. We usually don't give you extra time for it, but since you all had a good reason the Dean decided to be lenient and is allowing you the full time alloted to the various papers."

"How generous," Yue-san drawled.

"Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Asuna-san chided, a look of surprise on her face at having used one of the idioms they'd learned in the underground cavern under Library Island.

"Enough chit chat girls," Takamichi said as he began giving out the question papers that had conveniently been stacked on the empty classroom's teacher's table.

"Good luck girls, I believe in each of you!" Negi encouraged his students with a beaming smile as he stepped out of the classroom, giving Takamichi a small bow while doing so.

As he closed the door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief that the Library Island ordeal seemed to be over at last. Turning to glance at his students hard at work on their exams, he felt the seal on his magic he'd placed a week ago finally break granting him access to his powers once more.

_Guess I should make use of that,_ the young mage thought as he observed his tired but determined students in the classroom. _Nothing that would give them an unfair advantage, but maybe a little pick me up is in order._

"Fragrantia floris, meis amicis vigorem, vitalitatem, auram salutarem! Refectio! (The fragrance of a flower, a wind that will fill my friends with vigour, vitality, and health! Recovery!)" Negi incanted under his breath.

His spell released the fragrance from a lone flower that wafted through the open window and reached each of his students, making them more alert and lively. Easing what aches and pains they'd acquired from their experiences this past week.

Smiling, Negi felt proud of himself.

Takamichi however disagreed and shot him an unimpressed look but otherwise didn't do anything.

Smiling sheepishly at his disapproving old friend, he waved awkwardly and woodenly walked away.

* * *

_So, this is it huh?_ Negi thought sourly as he clutched his crook staff tightly in one hand, his luggage in the other.

The results had come in, and despite his best efforts Class 2-A had once again ended up dead last.

"Negi-sensei stop!" Haruna-san shouted as she sprinted directly in front of him, blocking his path towards the train station. "You've made a mistake."

"H-Haruna-san? What are you-"

"Haruna, put me down!" Ranma-san said from where she was being carried like a sack of potatoes by her sister.

"Onee-chan! Explain things to him!" The greenette demanded as she nevertheless complied with her petite sister's request.

Said redhead adjusted her appearance for a bit, mainly pulling her disheveled skirt back over her shorts and glaring at her sister for the rough handling before turning her attention to Negi.

"Haruna's right, Sensei, you're making a mistake."

"I don't think so," Negi insisted. "2-A scored dead last and like the Dean said that means I'm fired."

"Negi!" Asuna-san's voice shouted from off in the distance.

"And here comes the cavalry." Ranma-san rolled her eyes.

Negi was about to speak, but he was bombarded by the bodies of his approaching students so hard that he could barely breathe!

"Wow, all the Baka-Rangers?" Ranma-san said with annoyance. "Did you _all_ need to come to break the news to the idiot?"

Under the pile of flesh where he was buried, Negi winced. Looks like Ranma-san was still very sore about all the trouble she'd gone to rescue him and her classmates having essentially gone to waste.

Pushing through the tangle of limbs, Negi managed to poke his head out and ask the question of the hour.

"W-What do you mean I'm wrong? The announcement was made."

"There was an accounting error, you dummy." Ranma-san told him with a glare. "A very, very obvious one! Or did you not notice that the class list you were given didn't include the marks for the first day papers of any of the students that went missing with you in the Library Island?"

_Come to think of it…_

"The administration forgot to add those in," Ranma-san continued her explanation, crossing her arms irritably as she did so. "Factoring those results in as well, 2-A actually has-"

"We're the best class in the year! And it's all thanks to you, Negi-sensei!" Sasaki-san declared excitedly, tossing Negi into the air. "Negi-sensei banzai! Banzai!"

The cheer was picked up by the other girls too and soon they were tossing him repeatedly into the air whilst they did so.

"Girls! Please! Put me down!" Negi cried out as he went up and down. Oh, he was getting a little dizzy now.

_At least they'll never change._ Negi thought as his class continued to cheer for him.

He was mid-air when he noticed Ranma-san shake her head and turn to walk away, a look of frustration etched onto her face.

_Ranma-san really doesn't like crowds huh?_ Negi thought as he fell back to earth.

Any further thoughts about Ranma-san were put on hold though, as he was swept away by the class for a celebration. It was as over the top as always and one he was completely powerless to moderate much less stop. A fact that led him to embracing the adage of 'if you can't beat them, join them' and wholeheartedly join in on the fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!
> 
> Man, I wish I had a magic flower that relieves tiredness. Sounds useful for a fic writer. Now where did I leave my radioactive waste, science calls for a magical solution!
> 
> Nameless: Be careful with that radioactive waste, you might just create something terrifying by mistake. XD
> 
> My sixth finger has no idea what you mean. Overall, I'm happy with this chapter, it really just shows all the stuff the gals in Ranma's group are improving on. Also, Ranma summoned her Purrsona! XD I had to, I'm not sorry! I hope you liked that move by the by, it was really fun to work on.
> 
> Nameless: That's just… I think I'm just gonna ignore that bad joke. For my sanity. Anyways, yeah, Itami is inspired by the concept of Personas. It strictly speaking isn't one, but functionally pretty much operates on the same mechanics. Maybe? We haven't fully decided. By the way, anyone else amused by the Haruna having insane strength joke making a reappearance? After all, her carrying Ranma as easily as she does in this chapter ain't normal. I think we're gonna run with that from now onwards. E4E, your vote?
> 
> My Sister has Super Strength? I agree with this new trope.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	11. Friendship & Magic

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Eleven: Friendship & Magic**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was a balmy early spring day when Ranma, Haruna, Nodoka-san and Ucchan headed towards a specially warded area of the Academy's woods that had been set aside for the campus' resident mages to practice their magic.

"I'm surprised, the place's empty." Ranma noted with surprise as they walked out of the forest into a clearing. "There's usually at least one or two other people around."

"Onee-sama, did you forget it's just after the exam season?" Haruna reminded her. "Most sane people are too busy celebrating to think about practising."

Ranma stared at her sister with pursed lips. "Are you saying I'm _insane_ , Haruna?"

"Of course not, Onee-sama!" The greenette backtracked hastily, hands held up in surrender. "Just, um, Nodoka help me out here!"

"W-Why should I?" Nodoka-san asked, with a slight stutter. "You called m-me insane too."

"What? N-No I didn't!"

"Nodoka-san, I am about to teach you a sure fire way to get revenge on Haruna." Ranma said seriously as she wiggled her fingers. "Now, stay still Har-u-na~"

Nodoka-san blushed brilliantly even as Ranma made a mock lunge at her foster sister.

"K-Kyah~! Ukyo-san save me!" Aforementioned sister cried out in dismay as she dove out of the way.

Ucchan just raised an eyebrow and took a step away from the younger Saotome. "Have at her, Ran-chan."

"Traitor!"

"I'm whose best friend again?" Ucchan said with another raised eyebrow.

_She's certainly got the look down. Has she been practicing in a mirror or something?_

"Um, as, uh, fun as this is, could we practice magic now?" A still blushing Nodoka-san cut into the brewing mayhem.

"Oh Nodoka, if you were into it I'd kiss you." Haruna sniffed, little tears in her eyes.

Nodoka-san blushed even harder at that, a feat Ranma had actually doubted was even possible. And something she proceeded to bop her foster sister over the head for. Seriously? Embarrassing your friend that badly with your teasing, how was that nice?

"Miyazaki-chan is right, Ran-chan." Ucchan chimed in. "As fun as watching your sisterly play fight is, I'm curious about how you go about learning magic too. So let's get this show on the road shall we?"

"Learning magic isn't all that complica-"

Haruna snorted, cutting Ranma off. "For _you_ maybe, Onee-sama. Not everyone can read it in a book and immediately go try out a spell."

Nodoka-san looked crestfallen at hearing that, so Ranma moved quickly to reassure her.

"Maybe not the complicated spells, but we're not doing those. We're focusing on _Lux_ (Light) and _Ardescat_ (Ignite) today."

"Oh!" Haruna perked up, puffing out her chest, "I can do those!"

"Really? Show me!" Nodoka-san asked excitedly.

Smiling proudly, Haruna pulled out a wand tipped with a simple toy shaped like a quill and with a grandiose gesture said the magic word. " _Lux_!"

At her invocation a slight glow surrounded the head of her wand and cast its light in a small circle around it, producing illumination that was roughly the same as what a torchlight would.

Nodoka-san clapped happily at the sight and even Ucchan looked impressed.

"I can see a spell like that being useful." The swordswoman said thoughtfully.

"And now for my next trick!" Haruna said, playing up her showmanship even more now that she'd hooked her audience. " _Ardescat_!"

At this casting, a small flame appeared hovering over the tip of her wand even as the glow it emitted slowly faded away, replaced by the flickering light cast by the ember she'd conjured.

Nodoka-san clapped once more, but Ucchan looked less impressed this time.

"Isn't this just a fire version of the previous spell? I mean, outside of lighting things up, there isn't much more use to this. The flame isn't big enough for much."

"No! It can be used to burn stuff so it can be dangerous too." Haruna insisted.

"Is it?" Nodoka-san asked warily.

"Not really," Ranma reassured her. "The flame created is really too small and weak to set anything but the most flammable stuff on fire."

Nodoka-san breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"More importantly," Ranma told the aspiring new mage. "These two spells are simple, easy to learn and can help unlock a newbie's magical pathways as it were."

"Magical pathways are a thing?" Ucchan asked, curiously. "Are they anything like ki pathways?"

"No, sorry." Ranma said with a shake of her head. "I mainly meant that metaphorically. Unlike ki, magic doesn't really have a circulatory system. We just call it up from our inner well."

"Oh," Ucchan siad with a pout.

"What Onee-sama was trying to say is that these spells are perfect for helping to unlock the well of magic hidden inside any potential mage. So give it a try, Nodoka!"

"Just like that? Don't I need more training?"

"Not with these two spells." Ranma told her confidently. "They're the basic of the basic. All you really need is a wand and the correct incantations."

"And here's your wand," Haruna said handing a wand tipped with a figurine in the shape of the moon to Nodoka-san. "Now get casting!"

"O-Okay," Nodoka-san said nervously, before she lifted her wand to her eye level and pointed it ahead of her.

" _Lux_!" She cast with determination that surprised Ranma considering her timid nature and her earlier hesitance.

Unfortunately that did not immediately lead to success. Her wand glowed, but the light sputtered out almost immediately.

"That happens sometimes," Haruna said before Ranma could even open her mouth. "Just try again. Always try again."

It took Nodoka-san five attempts before she got the spell to work properly, but by the end of it she was grinning more happily than Ranma had ever seen her.

"Try _Ardescat_ next." Ranma suggested.

"Okay," Nodoka-san said with a nod. " _Ardesca_ t!"

Instead of her spell conjuring a small flame like Haruna's, Nodoka-san's spell instead called into being a fireball the size of her own head.

"Eep!" The timid Library Island explorer squeaked as she instinctively whipped her wand away from her face and in the process sent the fireball that had been hanging at its tip shooting off into the distance where it exploded against a tree.

"I'm guessing that's not supposed to happen?" Ucchan deadpanned as they all looked at the scorch mark that Nodoka-san's fireball had created.

"Uh, not really. It's not supposed to be used to _attack_." Ranma blinked, as she tried to puzzle together what had happened.

"How!?" Haruna called out in dismay. "This is Nodoka's first time with this spell. With spells at all! How is she better than me already!?"

"She could have an affinity for fire spells? That's my best guess anyways." Ranma offered as she crossed her arms in thought. "Try it again, Nodoka-san. Just, um, point the wand away from you this time."

"O-Okay," the violet haired girl said as she took a steadying breath and cast the spell once more. " _Ardescat_!"

Again a fireball shot across the training ground.

"I think that pretty much confirms your hypothesis, Ran-chan." Ucchan said with a look of awe. "Looks like Miyasaki-chan is gonna be a pretty killer fire mage."

For her part Nodoka-san was just looking down at her wand with awe. Haruna though was quite the opposite, eyeing her friend with something that bordered dangerously on a look of betrayal.

_This is just gonna cause problems isn't it?_ Ranma thought with a barely suppressed sigh.

* * *

It was the next day and Ranma was having classes as normal when Haruna suddenly leaned over during English class and whispered into her ear, "Ne Onee-sama, where's Sasaki-san?"

"How would I know?" Ranma hissed back. "Maybe she's sick?"

"That fitness nut?"

"Just because she's sporty doesn't mean she's immune to disease."

"Yeah, but bakas can't catch colds."

Ranma just rolled her eyes and pushed her sister away. "Stop bothering me and focus on class. Or I'm calling Oba-san later and tattling on you."

Haruna shot her a betrayed look, but Ranma just looked her dead in the eyes and nodded seriously.

Sighing, the greenette subsided.

Sadly, that didn't last long. The moment the bell rang for recess, Haruna picked Ranma up like a sack of potatoes and dragged her along as she sought out Sasaki's best friend, Izumi-san.

"Izumi-san!" Haruna-san said as she literally slid in front of the class health assistant as she was walking out of the classroom. "What happened to Sasaki-san? Is she sick?"

For her part, Izumi-san looked baffled and her eyes strayed to where Ranma was letting her body hang slack under her sister's arm.

_Yes, this is a common occurrence. Please ignore this._ The embarrassed redhead tried to convey without a word.

Thankfully, Izumi-san seemed to get the picture and hastily looked away from Ranma before she could be even more mortified.

"Uh, Makie is in the Nurse's Office."

"She's what!?" Half the class exploded in surprise at Izumi-san's declaration.

"She's suffering from what Shizuna-sensei is saying is sudden onset anemia."

"That isn't a thing right?"

"Actually it is," Izumi-san said with a shake of her head. "And it can be pretty serious too. But Shizuna-sensei said Makie's case is pretty mild. Just a case of iron deficiency is all. A little supplements and some rest and she'll be fine."

"It could be serious!?" Yukihiro-san asked in her typical histrionics. "I must see her for myself and determine if she's going to be alright. It's my duty as Class President."

"Me too! Me too!" The bulk of 2-A chorused one after another. Much to Ranma's annoyance, this included Haruna.

As a result, Ranma found herself carried along as pretty much two thirds of her class descended on the campus' expansive Nurse's Office. Thankfully, when they got there Haruna _finally_ put her down as she got too distracted in joining their classmates' hysterics over Sasaki-san's unexpected illness.

_It_ is _suspicious though._ Ranma mused as she hung back behind the crowd of her worried classmates as they thronged around Shizuna-sensei and bombarded her with questions.

Ignoring the mob, Ranma discreetly cast _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura) on herself and used the heightened vision it granted her to read Sasaki-san's patient profile that had been placed at the foot of her bed.

_Okay, so the sudden onset anemia is real it seems. But there's nothing there about any iron deficiency. What's going on here?_

"You're really too curious for you own good sometimes, you know that Ranma-chan?" Takahata-sensei said softly as his hand settled suddenly on the redhead's shoulder.

_When did he even get here?_ The young mage thought as she flinched away from the man.

"No need to panic," her fellow mage told her. "I'm here to pick you up. There's something I need to talk to you about. You, the other mages and the magically aware in 2-A."

"Need me to round them up?"

"No, just head over to the art room." Takahata-sensei informed her. "I'll gather the others and meet you there."

"Yes, sensei." Ranma replied with a bow and scurried off.

She'd have waited for Haruna, but she wanted no part in 2-A's bout of madness today. Besides, she'd had enough of being carried around for one day.

* * *

"So why did you want to see us?" Tatsumiya-san asked Takahata-sensei rather bluntly when she, Haruna, Nodoka-san, and Sakurazaki-san had all filed into the art room.

"Straightforward as always aren't you, Mana-san?" The art teacher said with a chuckle.

"Time is money sensei," the mercenary said seriously. "So stop wasting it and tell us what you have to say."

Ranma agreed with the dark skinned girl but couldn't help but feel she was being a little rude about it. Takahata-sensei wasn't their enemy, there was no need to be quite so hostile.

"Hm, fair enough. To get to the point, McDowell-kun is actually Evangeline A.K. Mcdowell, a powerful vampire that was sealed here some years ago. You might know her better as the Dark Evangel. From what we've discovered she's been partaking in drinking the blood of some of your classmates recently. No doubt a play to bolster her power in preparation for an attempt to break her seal and escape Mahora." The teacher explained, his tone stern and his eyes looked at each of them directly with a firm gaze. "You are _not_ to intervene unless she truly puts people at risk or in self-defense. Is that clear?"

The room was stunned into silence for a moment as they all processed the bombshell that their teacher had just dropped on them.

"Eva-san is the Dark Evangel!?" Ranma cried out in shock. "Are you serious? That tiny, cute blonde is the most fearsome vampire ever!?"

"I guess blonde is the new evil?" Haruna shrugged. "And Onee-sama, since when did you think Evangeline-san was cute?"

"I'm just being objective," Ranma said, trying to smother a blush. "She's like a doll. Of course, she's cute."

"Maybe that's why she likes using dolls? Because she looks like one?" Nodoka-san offered her own input.

"How do you know that about the Dark Evangel, Miyazaki-san?" Tatsumiya-san asked, curiously. "Didn't you only start learning about magic a couple days ago?"

"I, um, read. A lot?" Nodoka-san offered, while ducking her head nervously.

"Okay, enough tangents." Ranma cut in, her blush now mostly controlled. "Sensei, why is someone like the Dark Evangel even in the academy?"

"There's a funny story there actually," Takahata-sensei said scratching his cheek. "But all you need to know is that the Thousand Master sealed her here, depriving her of her magic. Though occasionally her powers trickle back and she goes for a nimble."

"How?" Nodoka-san asked. "If her magic is sealed-"

"No seal is perfect," Ranma explained, a worried look on her face. "There are always flaws. If I'd hazard a guess then I'd say one possibility is that when the power of the World Tree is at its zenith, it could empower her enough to at least partially overcome the seal and restore some of her magic."

"Pretty close, but for someone with her experience she has a few tricks to make her above the average mage even with her powers sealed too."

"Potions and the like, right?" Tatsumiya-san pointed out.

Takahata-sensei blinked in surprise and chuckled.

"I should have expected that from you Tatsumiya-san. Should I be concerned too?"

Tatsumiya-san shrugged.

"I'm not going to be doing much unless I'm paid, so you don't really have to worry about me. Unless anyone here wants to pay me to actually do something?"

"I don't think my budget covers your fee." The arts teacher chuckled awkwardly.

"I won't interfere either," Sakurazaki-san said coldly. "Not unless something happens to endanger my primary mission."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Takahata-sensei told her confidently.

"I guess that leaves us?" Haruna said pointing at the three of them. "By the way, why isn't Ukyo-san here?"

"I couldn't find her," Takahata-sensei admitted with a scratch of his chin. "That girl _is_ a ninja."

"She's probably gone to practice her swordplay." Ranma informed him. "You should have checked the practice areas sensei."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time." The magical teacher said with a grateful nod. "So will your group stay out of this Ranma-chan?"

"Only if she doesn't go crazy. If she does, I _will_ try and help."

This received nods from both Haruna and Nodoka-san.

"I guess that's the best I can hope for," Takahata-sensei admitted with a sigh. "Alright then, you're dismissed girls. And please stay out of trouble."

As they all headed back to class, Ranma sent her foster sister a look.

"I get it Onee-sama," Haruna whined. "No need to lay it on so thick. I'll behave."

"You better. Or I'll _really_ call Oba-san."

Haruna shivered but nodded.

* * *

It was a cool Saturday afternoon and Haruna and the rest of the group were training in the warded clearing again. It was a little more crowded this time, with a number of the campus' other mages also making use of it for some practice. Of note was the college undergraduate and part-time potioneer who was testing out some of his more volatile concoctions in one corner and causing the odd explosion interspersed with bursts of blinding cleansing light perfect for exorcising the undead.

_Looks like we weren't the only ones warned about Eva-san._ Haruna noted even as she saw how more than a few of the other mages using the clearing were practicing exorcism arts of various kinds. _Everyone's so on edge. Is she really_ that _scary? I mean she's pretty closed off in class but I can't imagine her being some evil megalomaniac no matter what the history books say._

As for their own little group, Nodoka was practising with _Sagitta Magica, Series Ignis_ (Magic Arrows, Fire Series) that Onee-sama had taught her earlier that day at one of the firing lanes set up on one side of the clearing, each complete with a boulder at the end to serve as a target. She was doing pretty well. While her arrows were few in number, they were manifesting properly and of the right elemental alignment.

Onee-sama and Ukyo-san meanwhile were sparring. Onee-sama was raining deliberately weakened shots of _Sagitta Magica_ (Magic Arrows) down on the ground bound Ukyo-san in a bid to work on getting the latter to improve her limited anti-air capability. It was mostly working as the swordswoman was increasingly able to counter the spells with chunks of rock she sent flying with that one technique of hers or the occasional thrown spatula shuriken. She was still getting zinged by the occasional magic arrow though and Haruna guessed that she'd be quite numb all over later.

_Ok, that's enough spectating. Time to get started on my own practice._ Haruna decided as she raised her wand and taking a deep breath prepared to get started.

" _Sagitta Magica._ " She cast with her wand leveled at her target boulder. Much to her dismay instead of firing off a brace of magical bolts, all she managed to conjure were a handful of sparks.

Frustration bubbled up in her chest as she glanced at her Ministra who had just fired off a half dozen perfectly formed flaming arrows scathingly, "How are you surpassing me so quickly?! You just started!"

Nodoka looked away from her own practise on a neighboring firing lane and nervously opened her mouth to say something before closing it when she realized she had nothing to say. Instead, she offered Haruna a sympathetic look while biting her lip as she tried to find the words.

That just made the ugly jealousy boil hotter. Her own _Ministra_ was _pitying_ her.

"I don't need your pity!" Haruna snapped, causing Nodoka to flinch back.

"I'm not!" Nodoka denied fiercely. "Pitying you I mean. I was just-"

"You're lying."

"Am not! I was just trying to think of what advice to offer you. But I'm new to this and-"

"Stop rubbing that in!" Haruna hissed angrily.

"Haruna stop! Now!" Onee-sama ordered sternly as she arrived with Ukyo-san in tow.

Spinning to face her shorter elder sister, Haruna pouted. "But Onee-sama~!"

"But nothing," Onee-sama told her with a flinty glare. "It's not Nodoka-san's fault that she's more talented in magic than you are."

Ukyo-san flinched at that. It was extremely blunt. But it was exactly what Haruna needed to hear. The unvarnished truth was always able to make her see reason, especially when it came from her beloved Onee-sama.

Looking down, Haruna felt a rush of shame fill her. The blunt fact burned in its own way but it was a wake up call from her obvious insecurities.

"I… yeah." The artist backed up, guilt happily piling up with her shame as she glanced at Nodoka. She tried to speak, but her tongue felt like lead. Her fist tightened to the point her nails started to hurt her palm and "her head fall once more as she stared at the ground.

_I don't want to see their looks. I've seen them enough at home and in the mirror._

"Now apologize to Nodoka-san," Onee-sama ordered.

"-rry, Nodoka." Haruna choked out. Ugh, how pitiful could she be?

"I-It's okay," her friend replied easily, taking a few tentative steps forward. "I understand why you got upset."

"It's _not_ okay." Haruna insisted, fire returning to her voice. "But I'll make it up to you! Ah! I know what! Why don't I give you one of Onee-sama's grimoires?"

"They're mine though." Onee-sama muttered to Ukyo-san, who giggled a bit.

"I'll buy you a new one to replace it," Haruna said while shooting her sister puppy dog eyes. "My bonus for the new volume of my manga is due soon, so I'll be able to get you a good one."

"Why not just get the new one for Miyazaki-san?" Ukyo-san teased, earning herself a glare from Onee-sama.

"Uh, that sounds good?" Nodoka said, sounding uncertain.

"Nice!" Haruna said, pumping her fist. "Then I'll pass it to you first thing once we get back to the dorms."

"O-Okay. For now, maybe, we could, uh, practise together?" Nodoka offered kindly. "I need to master the basic _Sagitta Magica_ too."

Part of Haruna wanted to refuse. The humiliation of having her _Ministra_ coach her through a basic spell was almost too much to bear. But in the interest of their friendship, she agreed.

She had to be a good Magistra after all.

"I guess things are settled?" Ukyo-san asked.

Haruna and Nodoka both nodded.

"Then Ran-chan let's get back to our spar."

"Okay," a still worried looking Onee-sama reluctantly agreed as she turned away and followed Ukyo-san back to where they'd been practising.

Alone with Nodoka, Haruna turned to her friend. "Sorry again."

"Don't mention it," Nodoka replied with a small smile. "Let's just get practising."

"Okay."

Hours past and by the time that they finally decided it was time to leave, Haruna had finally managed to fire a single bolt of _Sagitta Magica_. It wasn't much but it was her first taste of success with magic in a long while and she felt immensely proud of the achievement.

"Thanks for the coaching Nodoka," Haruna told the violet haired girl as they all walked back to the dorms. "It really helped."

"It's nothing," Nodoka told her with that shy smile of hers. "I'm your Ministra aren't I? That makes us a team. Of course, I'd help you."

"I know, but even then thanks." Haruna told her friend sincerely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> A nice and sweet chapter, if not bittersweet at some parts. I personally like the Haruna parts because I can get where she is coming from. Her sister is a prodigy while she's not even a hedge mage. Now her own pactio partner is already surpassing her. It's heartbreaking and I hope her reaction comes off as real and understandable.
> 
> Nameless: If there's anything that's a little unrealistic in my opinion is how easily Haruna overcame her jealousy. That said, we chose not to dwell on it because an emotionally driven story isn't what we're gunning for here so we're glossing it over. In that way, we're just following in Akamatsu-sensei's footsteps. He totally oversimplifies and glosses over certain traumatic or emotionally charged things too.
> 
> Like Negi's dislike of baths stemming from his near drowning as a child! Yay trauma!
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	12. What Goes Bump in the Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twelve: What Goes Bump in the Night**

**Beta:**

* * *

Negi was coming home from a long day of grading papers and was just walking up to the dorm room he shared with Asuna-san and Konoka-san when a hiss caught his attention.

"Psst, Aniki over here!" A familiar voice whispered.

Turning to its source in a shadowy corner, Negi spotted a slender white critter surrounded by a pile of girls' unmentionables. Where did those come from?

"C-Chamo-kun?!" Negi gaped in shock at seeing his ermine fairy friend. His heart warmed at someone from home being here!

_It's not Nekane-nee-chan, but it's so wonderful to have a familiar face!_

"Aniki, you have to hide me!" Chamo said without so much as offering a greeting. "I've been chased around all day!"

"Why?" Negi asked cautiously as he eyed the pile of undergarments that his old friend was sitting atop of like a dragon over its hoard.

The fairy just shrugged. "Maybe people just find me too cute and want to squish me to death with hugs?"

"Or maybe it has something to do with you stealing their underwear?" Negi told him accusingly with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed over his chest.

"What? These? Nah! You're thinking way too hard about this, Aniki."

"Return them and come find me in my room," Negi told him sternly. It reminded him of the tone Ranma-san would use on Haruna-san. Or when Asuna-san would nag him about taking baths. Yuck.

_Guess I'm learning some interesting things doing this job other than just teaching and magic, huh?_

"We'll talk more there. You can figure out which one that is, right?"

The fairy slumped on his hill of stolen goods. "Okay. I'll, uh, see you in an hour then Aniki."

"You better," Negi told him. "Or I'm telling the Dean that you stole his granddaughter's panties."

Chamo paled and nodded.

"Since when did you become so scary, Aniki?"

"Since I became a teacher," the young mage told him. "I'm betting some of those panties belong to my students. And I'm _not_ going let you get away with it."

Plus they would most likely skin him alive if they ever found out he did. And they would too. Somehow. And there was only so much horror Negi could face in this place, thank you very much. He wasn't about to subject himself to more of it, not even for Chamo-kun.

"And if I run?"

Negi smirked. Then he'd tell Ranma-san he'd spied on Haruna-san in the baths. He could just imagine the redhead exploding over that and hunting Chamo down like a force of nature. The elder Saotome was _very_ protective of her little sister.

"I would say good luck, but I don't think you'd get very far. I will prepare an excellent funeral service though."

"...This place is terrifying." Chamo concluded.

Negi nodded in solemn agreement.

* * *

"So this is a fairy?" Asuna-san asked in disbelief as she stared at Chamo-kun as the ermine took a 'drag' from a chocolate cigarette. "My dreams are completely shattered."

"Suck it up," Chamo-kun said with a smirk. "Expectations are meant to be broken."

"Yeah, whatever," the orangette said with a disappointed shake of her head. "Just don't let Konoka see you 'smoking' or your cover is blown. Even if that's just chocolate, no normal ermine would hold it like that."

"I'm not an idiot." The ermine fairy replied. "I know what I need to do to keep the secret of magic."

"So you say, but I'm watching you." Asuna-san warned him as she took out some of her homework. "And if you do _anything_ to risk us getting turned into ermines like you, I'll skin you alive."

"Gotcha, Ane-san!" Chamo-kun said, offering Asuna-san a respectful nod.

"That went better than I expected," Negi said genuinely. "I expected Asuna-san to smack you at least once for being a panty thief."

"You made him return the things he stole so I'm giving him a pass this time," the redhead said without looking up from where she was struggling through some math problems. "If there's a next time, though… Well, I might do more than skinning him. I always wanted to play at being a Vet."

"Warning noted," Chamo-kun said with a nervous swallow. "So, um Aniki, let's talk about what I actually came here to do."

"You mean besides running away from jail back in Wales for being a panty thief?" Negi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey! I served my time!" Chamo-kun protested. "They're the ones who wanted to lock me away permanently for the 'safety of the community'. The bunch of overreacting loonies."

"...Should I be worried?" Asuna-san stared at the young redhead quizzically.

"Chamo-kun is ninety percent harmless," Negi reassured him. "The warrant for preventive detention never got issued because he left before they could. I checked."

"So he's not a fugitive," Asuna-san said with a sigh of relief. "Just such a big pervert people wanted to lock him away just in case."

"Just on a watchlist. I think he's sixth on it." Negi knitted his brows as he struggled to remember the details.

"Sixth?!" Chamo-kun deflated like a balloon at the mention of it.

Negi ignored that and asked, "So what is your 'real' reason for coming here, Chamo-kun?"

"To help you get a partner of course!" The ermine fairy replied enthusiastically.

"Partner?" Asuna-san asked curiously, as she finished off the first page of sums and flipped to the next page. "So they sent you to Japan to get a girlfriend? Man, mages are weird."

"Asuna-san~! N-Not that kind of partner!" A red faced Negi clarified.

"What? Wales doesn't have mail order wives?" Asuna-san dug deeper, a grin on her face.

Chamo-kun looked between the two humans seemingly trying to decide whether it was a good idea to jump in on the teasing or not and ultimately decided it was worth whatever terrible fate he'd suffer to get a few digs in.

"None as pretty as you," the cheeky fairy told Asuna-san, who looked confused before she glowered.

"Puh-lease! As if I would partner up with some kid. I like my guys more mature!" The orangette replied even as her cheeks took on a pink hue.

"Seriously though," Negi said cutting off the teasing. "You came here just to help me get a Pactio partner?"

"Yup," Chamo-kun told him while pointing his chocolate cigarette directly at him. "Nekane-ane-san sent me. Apparently you've been here for months and haven't even got started looking! She's worried! You _know_ how important a Ministra is to a mage."

"Yes, but-"

"And then there's the vampire plaguing the campus I heard about on my way here." Chamo-kun continued, ignoring Negi altogether.

"Vampire?" Asuna-san asked looking up from her work. "Is that why people have been getting anemia all of a sudden lately?"

Once more ignoring the others in the room, the ermine fairy just kept going. "And if those rumors are to be believed, it's not just any vampire but the Dark Evangel we're dealing with! Aniki, this chick is one who tango'd with your old man! If you want any chance of even fighting her, you'll _need_ a Ministra or three! Or you'll end up being this crazy broad's next snack!"

"The Dark Evangel!?"

"Yup," Chamo-kun said. "Show me the class roster of yours. I heard she's in your form class even."

Alarmed, Negi quickly pulled out the class roster and laid it out on the table.

"There!" The ermine said authoritatively as he pointed at the portrait of Evangeline A.K. McDowell, seat number 28. "That's her alright. I looked up some photos of her in the old days and that's definitely her!"

"But-"

"Eva-san is a vampire?" Asuna-san said skeptically. "I mean, she's standoffish and kind of a jerk, but blood sucking vampire? It's hard to see."

"So you either use that super spell you're all obsessed about on her and exorcise her _or_ you get a Pactio." Chamo-kun continued, once more ignoring everyone else. "Those are your only two options."

"We don't talk about that, Chamo-kun." Negi told his friend in a flinty voice.

"Then you have only one choice don'tcha?"

"I… I will. I'll look into finding someone willing to form a Pactio with me." Negi declared.

"Hehe, with a budding heartthrob like you? I'm sure the moment you ask you'll have uddules of girls beggin' to be your partner!"

"Maybe Ranma-san?" Negi mused. "We've had a lot of fun talking about magic together lately and she's pretty good with that crossbow of hers."

"You might want someone more up front and center since you do a lot of casting, Aniki." Chamo-kun said, adding his own two cents.

"And she'd more likely kill you than agree." Asuna-san chimed in, putting her homework away as the topic fully caught her interest. "I heard her talk with Haruna-san about how Miyazaki-san got caught up in magic once. She all but said she hated these Pactio things you guys are talking about."

"How about you then Ane-san? You seem pretty strong."

"And your magic cancel would be super helpful." Negi added enthusiastically. Having Asuna-san as his Ministra would a great idea. Not only was she strong, but they got along well too. It was perfect as far as Pactio partnerships went.

"You know you guys are missing a more obvious solution right?"

"What do you mean, Asuna-san?" Negi asked, confused by what she was getting at.

"Well, you're both talking about Pactios because of a vampire running around campus right?"

"Yes," Negi agreed and Chamo-kun nodded.

"Then why not ask the _other teachers_ for help dealing with it. I mean, this is not just your job alone, right?, It's theirs too!"

"...I feel rather dim." Negi admitted with a frown, scolding himself for missing something _so_ obvious! Takamichi was here! They could team up like a mini Ala Rubra! Fighting off monsters and their ilk!

"I still think a Pactio is a better fix."

"Hush, you." Asuna-san scolded. "You just want whatever goodies you can get for arranging a Pactio don't you? I don't know what kinda cut you get, but it's obvious you get something."

"I plea the ermine tenth."

Asuna-san just snorted.

"Okay!" Negi declared confidently as he settled on a course of action. "I'll go see Takamichi tomorrow."

* * *

"Takamichi, wait up!" Negi called out to his older friend from across a hallway of Mahora Junior High School just as the other teacher stepped out of the school's art room.

"Ah, Negi-kun." His older friend smiled, his scruffy face lighting up a touch as he turned to face the young mage jogging up to his side. "What can I do for you today?"

"I've been investigating this… assault on Sakura Lane." Negi spoke tentatively as his eyes glanced around sneakily to see if there was anyone not in the know that might be eavesdropping.

"Ah, the vampire case." Takamichi said with an amused smile.

"You know about it?" Negi said with a relieved sigh. "Then you can help?"

"I'm sorry Negi but I can't," Takamichi told him with a shake of his head while still sporting that amused grin. "You see this trouble with the campus' resident vampire is a test of sorts for you."

A shot of panic spiked through Negi, "R-Really? A test?"

Facing the Dark Evangel was a test!? This was one strange and brutal test!

His throat felt tight, but resolve bubbled up inside and he gave a firm nod. "A-Alright. I'll pass this, Takamichi."

"Don't worry so much, Negi," Takamichi said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This vampire is at an entirely appropriate level as an opponent for you."

_Appropriate level!? The Dark Evangel is at my level? Either the Dean and the other magical teachers are crazy or I'm a lot stronger than I thought…_

"Though, of course, if you _really_ need us to help the other mages on campus would be more than willing to step in. Do you?"

"That would make me fail the test wouldn't it?"

"Hm, honestly, I wouldn't hold it against you. Then again, I could be playing favorites."

_Please play favorites more!_ Negi thought privately even as he sucked in a steadying breath.

"I-I understand." Negi told his friend seriously. "I'll deal with the vampire on my own. I won't fail this test."

"I have faith in you Negi," Takamichi said, giving the young redhead's shoulder an encouraging squeeze before heading off.

Negi looked at his retreating back with trepidation.

_Can I really do this?_

* * *

The night air was crisp as a gentle breeze rolled through the clouded night air. Between the weather and the way the branches of trees on either side of the footpath along Sakura Lane arched over it, the whole area had a dark ambience.

Was it any surprise then that Nodoka felt her heart pounding in her chest as every sound of rustling leaves made her eyes dart towards the trees wearily. At the same time, she clutched the pair of books in her arms, some late night reading, more tightly each time even as she walked down the thoroughfare back to the dorms. The comfortable weight of her wand in her pocket was reassuring, but she knew full well that she was just a novice and that she was unlikely to be able to fend off a serious attack.

_Just remember, you have all those alarm wards. I-If something happens, the others will come and help. Just stay positive, Nodoka!_ The bookworm nodded to herself.

The reassurance still couldn't fight off the gnawing fear though.

Once more, the rustling of a tree made her spine go ramrod as her head glanced around.

_Just the wind ag-_

Suddenly her alarm wards went off in a cacophony of sound that filled her mind.

_Uh-oh!_ Nodoka thought as she dropped her books and drew her wand. _They're only supposed to go off like that if what triggered them is super dangerous!_

A bat like shadow detached from the shadows of a tree whose branches hung partially over the pedestrian walkway and leapt at the beginner mage. Nodoka had been training hard with Ranma-san lately though, and spun around while the attacker was still in midair and leveled her wand at the shadowy figure.

" _Ardescat_!" Nodoka cast confidently, sending a fireball slamming into her attacker's centre mass.

The force behind the spell sent the attacker flying back the direction she'd come to slam into the tree from which she'd jumped.

"McDowell-san?" Nodoka cried out in surprise as she recognized her attacker by the light cast by her spell. "You _are_ the vampire attacking our classmates..."

"Oh my," Her classmate's silky voice chortled even as she gracefully got to her feet on one of the tree's broad branches and patted down the last embers left over from Nodoka's fireball. "How cute of you. Though I must say, I didn't bring any candles for you to light. Mayhaps you have something beyond parlor tricks?"

The vampire took a menacing step forward and Nodoka prepared herself to send another fireball her way when a magical bolt exploded right at the feet of the dangerous vampire. It forced the petite figure to leap back and glance up in annoyance. There she found Ranma-san perched on a tree branch of her own and pointing her crossbow threateningly at her.

"Hmph! Nodoka-san's alarms aren't just keyed to me. I suggest you scat because I'm sure the magical staff will be here in a minute or two."

The sheer confidence in Ranma-san's voice assured Nodoka even as she kept her wand raised, ready to defend herself just in case as she was taught. Just because the cavalry had arrived didn't mean the crisis was over.

"Like they'll interfere," McDowell-san scoffed. "They haven't done anything so far. And they _definitely_ know what I've been up to."

"Yes, but you haven't attacked an active mage have you?" Ranma-san told her gesturing to Nodoka's wand with a nod of her head. "That's a whole other kettle of fish for the magical staff and you know it."

"Tsch," the vampire said with annoyance. "Fine, I didn't want to pick a fight with a Magister Magi and their Minister Magi anyways. I'll be generous and let you two go. _This time._ But once I get my full power back I'll be back to pay you back for this insult to my pride."

With that ominous declaration, McDowell-san jumped into the air and spread her cloak so that she resembled a bat and flew off.

"What's with all that grandstanding?" Ranma-san said with a shake of her head. "With her handicaps it's not like she can make good on those threats."

Nodoka didn't share her mentor's nonchalance with the situation. Instead, with the threat gone she collapsed to her knees in relief.

"Nodoka-san, you alright?" Ranma-san asked with concern as she jumped down to stand beside her. "Just, uh, take deep breaths okay? Eva-san is gone. You're safe now."

The bibliophile just nodded and took the tiny redhead's advice, breathing in deep gulps of air as she struggled to calm down. It wasn't easy though. Not only did it feel like she couldn't get enough air, but her heart was beating so hard that it felt it was on the verge of bursting out of her chest.

"Th-That was the most terrifying thing I've ever dealt with." Nodoka muttered to Ranma-san.

"More scary than helping to fight a giant golem shooting laser beams?" Ukyo-san asked as she walked out of the line of trees that bordered the footpath.

Nodoka would have replied but hot on the swordswoman's heels, Haruna had shot pass their friend and rushed over to pull her into a bone crushing hug,

"Oh, thank the kami that you're alright." Haruna gushed. "I was so, so worried."

The violet haired girl hugged her greenette friend back, comforted greatly by the show of concern by her and all their little group of friends. She didn't even want to imagine what would've happened if they hadn't been around.

* * *

"We need a bigger room," Haruna gripped as pushed pass Asuna-san to put the tray of drinks for everyone on the coffee table. "Onee-sama, you need a better place for all your grimoires. We're cluttered!"

Ranma couldn't disagree. With Negi-sensei, Asuna-san and the former's new ermine fairy familiar, in addition to their own group of friends, the Saotome sisters' usually reasonably spacious dorm room was feeling very cramped. Especially in light of the many shelves and containers full of her collection of grimoires.

"Oh, is that an authentic 12th century copy of the _Ghâyat al-Hakîm fi'l-sihr_?" Negi-sensei asked with starry eyes.

"Nah, just a modern reprint. I'm not _that_ wealthy. It's just a good reproduction." Ranma lamented, "I'd kill for a first edition though."

"Oh! I think I once heard about-" Negi-sensei started but Asuna-san cut him off.

"Alright nerds, let's focus on the issue here. You can gush over your artifacts once we don't have a vampire loli out to get us."

"...I could so spin a manga about that." Haruna muttered and pulled out a notepad.

"Paru, only you." Asuna-san said with an amused shake of her head.

"You could spin a manga about anything." Ranma told her foster sister blandly.

"Uh, Ran-chan, is telling Negi-sensei about McDowell-san okay? Didn't Takahata-sensei tell us to stay out of it?"

"It's fine Ucchan," Ranma reassured her best friend. "After Eva-san attacked Nodoka-san I asked him if helping Negi-sensei was alright. He said it was, so yeah it's fine. That said, Negi-sensei-"

"Yes?" The young Welsh boy replied uncertainly.

"You're an endless source of trouble, you know that?"

_Everyone_ , even Sensei's familiar, nodded their heads in agreement.

"Sorry?"

"I don't think he really is." Asuna-san rolled her eyes. She cleared her throat and changed the subject, "Alright. We know Eva-chan is stalking cute innocent girls at night. How are we stopping her?"

"So it's really Evangeline-san?" Negi asked crestfallen. "Is she really the Dark Evangel too?"

"I'm afraid so," Ranma told him apologetically.

Negi-sensei grew pale and his face broke out into a sweat. "I-I'm okay. This is nothing. Yep! J-Just another bump in the road. In Japan. ...Why was I sent to Japan?"

Ranma leaned over and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. Poor kid.

"It isn't that bad?" She offered the panicking boy mage. "Most of her power _is_ sealed away."

"Even then!" Negi-sensei cried out as he collapsed onto the table and began muttering under his breath. "At this rate I'll really need to use _that_ spell. But it's not ready and I want to save it for the _true enemy_."

"Uh, Negi-sensei what are you talking about?" Nodoka-san asked gently.

_Good job! Change the topic before he completely melts down._ Ranma thought as she shot the shy girl a thumbs up for her quick thinking, earning herself a brilliant blush from the other girl.

"Nothing!" Negi-sensei shouted as he shot back up into a proper sitting position. "It's nothing. Besides, I can't use it just yet."

"Well, if that's out of the question then why not hit the vampire while she's weak?" Chamo, Sensei's ermine fairy familiar, suggested. "I mean since her power is mostly sealed, most of the time she's pretty much a normal person right? I'm sure you could take her then, Aniki."

"In what way would we attack?" Asuna-san quirked a brow, "Firebomb her cottage? Which by the way, her being a vampire totally explains her getting. Man, I wonder if she even has roommates? Gah, focus!" the orangette bonked her own head. "So yeah, what else?"

"She does have roommates," Ranma informed her. "One, in fact. Karakuri Chachamaru-san. She also happens to be her doll familiar too."

"A doll contract? I didn't know Karakuri-san was a magical construct." Haruna chimed in. "By the way, Onee-sama, can a doll be a registered student?"

"We have a ghost, so why not?"

"A what?" Ucchan asked, incredulously. "You two aren't serious right?"

"They are actually," Nodoka-san said with a nod. "I'll explain it to you later."

"Explain it to me too," Asuna-san said as Ucchan nodded. "How do you know about it anyways?"

"Research," the bibliophile with a blush.

"Let's not get distracted here," Negi-sensei said with a brittle smile. "So it's a bad idea to attack Evangeline-san's cottage?"

"Or ambushing her in general," Ranma corrected. "Doing so will get Karakuri-san involved and who knows what she can do? She's a robot doll magical construct, she could be hiding all manner of secret weapons inside that body of hers."

"Why don't we just take her out first then?" Chamo suggested while nibbling on the Pocky stick he was holding like a cigarette.

"That's underhanded isn't it?" Ranma said, eyeing the fairy with disdain.

Didn't it have any semblance of honor at all? Sure, the world was pretty dog eat dog but that's why they had to try and be honorable, compassionate and all that, right? If they didn't, if no one did then where would they all end up? Ranma for one would likely have ended up dead in a ditch somewhere. It was only out of the kindness of her foster parents that she'd been given a second chance.

"I-It's wrong!" Nodoka-san cut in with a stammer that on this occasion Ranma thought might be more due to agitation than anxiety. "Karakuri-san is a wonderful person! I've seen her feed pigeons, help little kids and do all kinds of nice things! Ambushing her is just wrong!"

Haruna nodded in agreement with her Minister Magi.

"I've gotta agree," Ucchan added. "I've not been on campus long but even I've seen Karakuri-san go out of her way to help people plenty of times."

"I guess you're all bright eyed youths. Sometimes, when dealing with really _really_ bad people, tough calls gotta be made! It doesn't matter how wonderful she is, if she's going to be breaking your bones in the name of her contractor! Who by the way, probably wants to gut Aniki here!"

"C-Chamo-kun, that's overreacting a tad maybe?" Negi-sensei pointed out.

"Hey, it's your blood. Not mine." The fairy ermine shrugged. "I'm just pointing out things."

"You might be right, ermine," Ranma told the creature with a dark look. "If we were in a warzone. Or if the situation was particularly dire. But neither is the case here. If it was, the rest of the magical staff would be all over it and not just leave things to Negi-sensei alone."

"Yeah well, if the Dark Evangel gets her power back, like she was boastin' to you ladies… well, warzone would be apt."

"The Dean will smack her back to Scotland before it comes to that," Haruna countered. "Or did you forget how powerful he is?"

"I'm hoping he jumps in _before_ that." The ermine muttered, 'smoking' another stick of Pocky.

_Now that I agree on._ Ranma thought sourly.

"Whatever the case, I can't agree to attacking Karakuri-san." Asuna-san declared firmly. "Negi?"

"Me neither," Negi-sensei said with a sigh.

"So then what else can we do to even up a fight with Eva-san since she's supposedly so out of Negi's league?"

Negi looked stricken by the reminder. Who knew he was such a sensitive little guy, huh?

"Well, Aniki could get a Pactio." Chamo suggested with a greedy glint in his eyes.

The mere suggestion elicited a range of responses. Nodoka-san blushed and eyed a grinning Haruna, while Ranma scowled in disgust. Ucchan seemed to consider it for a moment before finally shaking her head. Asuna-san wrinkled her nose.

"Is that really our only option left?" Asuna-san asked.

"It looks like it," Negi-sensei offered helplessly.

Ranma didn't agree. There were _always_ other options, but she knew she had to keep her opinion to herself. This was Sensei's decision to make. That and whoever he chose to become his Ministra that is.

"Oh alright, it's temporary right?"

"Yup," Chamo confirmed for the twin tailed redhead. "Either of you can break the contract whenever you feel like it."

Asuna nodded and looking annoyed, asked the million yen question. "So how do we make a Pactio?"

"You've gotta smooch on the lips!" The ermine batted his eyes crudely.

"What?!" Asuna-san blanched, "Like hell I'm going to kiss some, some little kid!"

"It's actually just a peck," Nodoka-san offered as she summoned her Pactio artifact. "And you get a really exciting magical item."

"Honya-chan! Are you saying you kissed Paru?!"

Haruna grinned widely, "Yep. And Nodoka, how could you call our passionate moment a mere peck? W-Wasn't it good for you?"

Nodoka-san turned atomic red, but she nevertheless managed to step on Haruna's foot hard. Combined with Ranma's own smack to the back of her foster sister's head, the greenette crumpled to the floor in pain.

"Gah! Owowowowow!" Haruna whined, clutching her noggin. "Fine, fine. I won't embellish. Much."

"It really is just a peck, Kagurazaka-san." Ucchan reassured the taller girl even as she rolled her eyes at Haruna's antics. "So just relax."

"Yeah it totally is," Chamo added. "And the ritual circle is ready too. So if you're decided-"

"Let's get this over with!" Asuna-san declared as she picked Negi-sensei up like he weighed nothing at all and hefted him over to the magic circle that the ermine fairy had drawn in chalk inside the room's last bit of free space in its small kitchenette.

"I swear, if you think more of this than what it is, you're dead brat."

Negi-sensei gulped at the threat and nodded vigorously.

Asuna-san glared at him for a moment longer to make the point before she pulled him into a chaste peck. As their lips met, a brilliant warm light emerged from the magical circle and as it faded, a single card materialized between the two new partners and was caught by Chamo.

"Pactio complete!" The fairy cheered as he showed off the Pactio card. "Check it out, Ane-san."

"Whoa!" Asuna-san gasped as she inspected the card closely, a growing smile on her face. "Look at that sword! Now I get what you mean Honya-chan, haha!"

"Come on, show it to us. Let's see you whip out that big bad sword, Asuna~"

"Paru," Asuna-san grimaced at the terminology. "And, um, how do I do it?"

"Simple Ane-san, just say 'Adeat' to bring it out. And 'Abeat' to stow it away."

"Alright, Adeat!" The orangette exclaimed and in a flash of light, she held her artifact in her hands.

Ranma bit her lip as she suppressed her own snickers as her fellow Japanese were all similarly amused by the large paper fan that had materialized in Asuna-san's hands. Only Negi-sensei didn't get it as he blinked in confusion instead.

"A harisen!?" Asuna-san cried out in dismay, her eyes wide in disbelief and disappointment. "Why isn't it a sword like on the card? Did it malfunction or something? Do I have to do a magical girl dance?"

A snort escaped Ranma's mouth as she covered it up and turned her head to the side. Best not let Asuna-san feel _more_ depressed at her artifact. The taller girl was already hunching her shoulders and looking down at the magical item in dismay. Any further and she might actually start crying.

"It's okay Asuna. Maybe it's stuck in mundane camouflage mode?" Haruna offered and that brought Ranma's attention back to the innocent looking harisen.

"I wouldn't know about that but, um, despite the artifact's ahem _strange_ appearance, it's actually pretty powerful." Ranma offered encouragingly once she'd got the amusement out of her system. "If I'm reading its aura right that thing should have an enhanced version of your magic-canceling ability. Add that to the extra reach it gives you from being so long and I think it'll be pretty useful."

"That's amazing Asuna-san!" Negi-sensei praised, eyes shining as he looked at his partner. He turned to Ranma, the same beaming smile on his face. "And it was pretty incredible that you managed to figure all that out with just a glance, Ranma-san."

Ranma just shrugged.

"Eh, I always had a knack for breaking down how things work at a glance."

"Glancing and just knowing, pretty scary there Ran-tan." The fairy pointed out.

"It's not that impressive," Ranma deflected. "I've read so much magical theory over the years that spotting what Asuna-san's artifact could do from its aura was easy, I just had to match it to what I'd read about in the past."

"That's still amazing!"

At Negi-sensei's clap of awe, Ranma's face flushed even as she lashed out at the fairy for his use of the babying suffix with a kick that the ermine shaped fae easily avoided. It nevertheless seemed to get the hint if the apologetic gesture it made with its front paws were any indication.

"A-Anyway, Asuna-san's artifact is super rare. Like one in a million rare. You have some serious luck on your side, Asuna-san."

"Well, I do win a lot at the market lotteries." The twin-tailed girl hummed in thought.

"That's nothing compared to this, Asuna-san!" Haruna said excitedly jumping into the conversation. "Exorcism items like yours are super rare as artifacts! And they're super duper useful too. They're super duper plus ultra effective against Eastern Mages! With it you'll totally be their bane!"

"But isn't Eva-chan a Western Mage, like Negi?" Asuna-san cocked her head to the side as she spun her harisen in her hand. "Or does that work on vampires too? Wouldn't it being a sword like on the card be more useful? Man, I've got so many questions!"

"You're still hung up on that, huh?" Ucchan noted with an amused grin.

"It's a super cool looking sword, of course I'd be! It looks like something out of a fantasy game."

"Well maybe you need to work up to it?" Nodoka-san suggested. "My pactio card has many books on it but when I summon _Diarium Ejus_ I only ever end up with one book. So maybe I need to earn the others and you need to earn your sword?"

Asuna stared at her harisen with slitted eyes, "I will make you a sword, you got that?"

"...I don't think it can hear you, Asuna-san." Negi-sensei offered, looking bewildered.

"A bond between a wielder and weapon is sacred, Negi. It understands. Trust me." Asuna-san told her roommate/teacher/charge seriously before turning back to her artifact. "I don't care how long it takes, I'll level you up or myself or whatever until I turn you into a sword. I swear it."

"Uh…"

"Now where's a waterfall on this campus?"

This seemed to break Ucchan's control and she just started guffawing uncontrollably.

Ranma just looked at her best friend funny.

"S-Sorry," the swordswoman said as she got herself back under control. "I couldn't hold it in any longer."

The cursed redhead didn't know what Ucchan found everything quite so funny. Asuna-san was being a little weird, sure, but it was nothing by 2-A standards.

_She must still be getting used to our zaniness or something._

"We've got one for the cause! Now," The little fairy grinned at the rest of the girls. "Anyone else want to hop on the Pactio wagon?"

"Not me," Ucchan spoke up immediately. "I want to be defined by the skills I've learned through my own effort not whatever magical item I get from teaming up with a mage."

"Suit yourself, samurai girl."

Ucchan raised an eyebrow at the nickname by otherwise didn't comment.

Smirking or as close to it as an ermine could manage, Chamo turned his attention to the remaining girls. "Any other takers?"

Ranma knew what was about to happen next but before she could open her mouth to stop her, Haruna had already jumped to her feet and was waving her hand in the air.

"Me, me!" The greenette cried out enthusiastically. "I want a magic item unique to me too! Pucker up, Negi-kun!"

"Eh?!"

Before the boy could even register Haruna's words, he was dragged into the circle and the greenette planted one on him. And continued the kiss even as the circle flashed brightly and deposited their Pactio card.

"Pah!" Haruna said as she _finally_ released the boy, whose eyes were crossed as he staggered back in a daze.

"...Did you just french our Sensei?!" Asuna-san exclaimed in disbelief.

"If it's my first kiss with a boy, I'm pulling out all the stops! I'm not a pecker, Asuna-san~!"

"I think that's illegal, Haruna." Nodoka-san pointed out, her cheeks as red as Ranma's hair.

"It's molestation if nothing else," Ranma agreed, frowning. "I'm totally telling Oba-san about this Haruna."

"C-Come on, Onee-sama! I'm a romantic at heart! P-Plus it was total inspiration!"

"That's not an excuse not to ask Negi-sensei's consent, Haruna." Ranma insisted.

"Ran-chan is right there," Ucchan said backing her up.

The glasses wearing Saotome sulked, and curled into a ball. Depression radiating off of her.

"Aniki! You really are a man amongst men!" Chamo cheered as he patted the young mage on the head.

"Bah?" Was the only response Negi-sensei could offer along with a glassy eyed look. "I, uh, don't mind?"

"You should," Asuna-san said with a shake of her head. "Next time _anyone_ wants to kiss you, for a Pactio or otherwise, make sure you ask their permission first and that they get _yours_ too. Like if you're ever alone with Iincho. Got it?"

"Okay?" Negi-sensei replied, sounding more confused than anything else.

"Come on, Haru-nee! Check out your card!" Chamo encouraged as he poked Ranma's sister with the copy of the Pactio card that he'd just duplicated from the original.

"If it's cool, will you spare me from Mama?" Haruna asked, pitifully.

"No," Ranma told her foster sister coldly. "But try the damned artifact anyways. If you're going to be reckless and enter a Pactio just for a chance at a cool toy then let's hope that you at least got _something_ worthwhile out of it."

"My Onee-san is so strict." Haruna whined as she activated her Pactio card and transformed it into her artifact.

"A sketchpad?" Asuna-san noted with amusement. "It suits you, Paru."

"...If that does what I think it does…" Ranma worked her jaw, trying to fathom just what Haruna possibly got her hands on. "You've just become a one woman army."

"What do you mean, Ran- Eep! What's that!?"

What had Ucchan all up in arms was a clone of Chamo that had suddenly appeared on her shoulder and was cuddling up against her cheek. It wasn't the only one of its kind either. All over the dorm room were dozens of the things which were being adorably distracting to all the girls.

"Oh, what a handsome rendition of myself. Nice work, Haru-nee!" Chamo offered a thumbs up to the magical artist even as he kept munching on a stick of his Pocky.

"A puppy?" Ranma asked skeptically as she looked at the aforementioned puppy shaped golem that her foster sister had conjured with her artifact right in front of her. It was utterly adorable, so much so that her resolve to tattle on the greenette almost immediately melted away.

"Because you love puppies, Onee-sama." Haruna told her, her glasses glinting dangerously as she adjusted them.

"This doesn't change anything! And why did you make it so cute?!"

Haruna's only response was to create a half dozen _more_ puppy golems and have the whole pack of them jump onto Ranma and smother her with adorable doggy kisses.

_I-Is this nirvana?_

"So _that's_ how you defeat Ranma-san? Overwhelm her with moe?" Asuna-san said with a clear tinge of laughter in her voice. "Gotta keep that in mind. It might come in handy someday."

Ranma was a little too busy being showered with puppy love to reply verbally so she just let her middle finger do the talking.

"Now that was uncalled for, Onee-sama." Haruna said chidingly. "Here have some more puppies. They'll help you to calm down and learn to be civil again."

And that was how another three puppy golems joined the literal dog pile.

"Anyways, since Onee-sama is distracted. Nodoka! Now's our chance! Make a Pactio with Negi-sensei too!"

"Actually Haru-nee that's a bad idea," Chamo, of all people, warned. "While it might not cause any problems, there is also the chance that being the Ministra to multiple Magister can cause harm to someone's magic. It's not advisable for humans especially with your weaker magic in general, to try it."

"But my parents are both each others' Magister and Minister/Ministra."

"That's only possible because," Ranma said as she pushed aside a persistent puppy that was licking at her face. "Obasan and Ojichan used a complex workaround in their Pactios to make it work."

Haruna bonked her own head and stuck out her tongue cheekily, "I forgot!"

"So will there be any issue with Haruna being both my Magister and Negi-sensei's Ministra?" Nodoka-san asked worriedly.

"I honestly don't know," Chamo said as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Let me think about i-"

"It shouldn't," Ranma chimed in for him, as she and Ucchan managed to wrangle the affectionate puppy golems so she could speak without them getting in the way. "Haruna's connections are all one way. It's when they go in both directions that it gets tricky. Though she should be under quite a bit of strain if she uses her own artifact and Nodoka-san uses hers at the same time."

"Meh, it's fine. It's hardly a problem since I have magical energy to spare, it's not like I can do any worthwhile spells that would drain me. Actually! It feels nice to strain it for once!" Haruna chirped, looking more excited than anything.

"That makes sense," Ranma reluctantly agreed. "Pactio artifacts aren't particularly draining either, but nevertheless it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

"Message received Onee-sama!" Haruna replied with a playful salute.

"Looks like your team is all lined up, Aniki. Ready to face off the Dark Evangel?"

"Don't remind me," Negi-sensei said with a fearful shiver. "But yeah, I think so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, stratagem chapters are a blast! Plus lore, or further lore into Pactios.
> 
> Nameless: Yes, they serve as such nice chances to dump lore. XP
> 
> I will say this, Asuna was a highlight of this chapter. Just the sheer fun of writing her was well worth it. I think she's going to go on as the hilarious but broken character in this series.
> 
> Nameless: I liked Ukyo too, mainly 'cos I was running through my own head why she was finding Asuna's reaction to her artifact so funny. She was imagining her Shishou's reaction to Asuna's whining. Hiko Seijūrō XIII might have knocked her black and blue for it but the face he would've been likely to make if he heard someone so utterly buying into the stereotypes of samurai and embarrassment as he realizes he lives up to a number of them mentioned would be hilarious.
> 
> So as we have shown, Evangeline was clearly a test for Negi. No way ANY of the mage teachers on campus would let her run around so freely if there was a serious threat. Sure at least a few might end up dead or injured to keep her at bay until the lights turned back on but they had to see that coming for the blackout. No one could be that clueless for such a dangerous individual.
> 
> Nameless: At least this is the case in the ROPverse, though we're pretty sure it's true in canon too. Another less potentially canon accurate change is about Chamo's reception by Negi. As you've noticed it was much cooler here. In canon, Negi never really criticizes him for his bad behavior. However, in this verse our version of Negi has grown up a lot more thanks to his even more traumatic childhood and so is a little more mature. He's still open to housing the miscreant but only if he plays by the rules.
> 
> All hail the perverted ermine! He who brings forth the Pactios and making a killing in ermine dollars for them.
> 
> Nameless: One last thing, just to avoid confusion over a minor detail if anyone is unsure why Eva's class register number is different it's because both Ukyo and Ranma are alphabetically ahead of her since I grouped them with "k" and "s" surnamed students so her number got bumped up in comparison to canon. The roster is very confusing since it doesn't seem to follow a fixed pattern, but it's mostly an alphabetically ascending order so I went with this route.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	13. Vampire Hunters NANCH

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirteen: Vampire Hunters NANCH**

**Beta:**

* * *

With his team for the upcoming fight selected and ready, Negi decided it was time to settle terms. So it was with a somewhat confident heart, he was still fighting _the_ Dark Evangel after all so absolute confidence was kinda impossible, that he wrote up a formal challenge.

"And it's done!" He cheered and finished with a flourish of his pen.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Aniki?" Chamo-kun asked from where he was wrapped around his shoulders and looking down on the written challenge.

"Of course! It's only proper after all."

"I don't think acting all gentlemanly here is what's going to help ya, Aniki."

"That doesn't mean I shouldn't be one." Negi said as he sealed the challenge into an envelope and stood to deliver it. "Being a gentleman I mean. It's the British thing to do."

"A-Alright Aniki. It's your blood on the line."

"...Oh right. It is."

"Aniki, for some reason I'm not sure you're taking this seriously."

"I most certainly am! Now help me find a stamp for this."

"You're delivering it!"

"The post office needs business, Chamo-kun."

That just got him a smack on the side of his head from an irate, exasperated fairy ermine.

* * *

"Oh, it's _you_." Evangeline-san wrapped up in a blanket, wearing a Hello Kitty ice bag strapped to her forehead and looking miserable said as she opened the door. "I thought it was Chachamaru back from visiting that undergrad Potions Master with more healing draughts."

"We have a potions market?"

The vampire just looked at him like he was an idiot for a long moment before her glare was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Ugh, of course we do, you twit. Now leave. I'm not well enough to drain you dry right now. Hmph!" She said as her coughing subsided only to be stopped mid sentence by a sneeze that forced her to inhale through her nose loudly in its aftermath. "Why couldn't it be that Ranma girl that the Dean sent against me this time? At least she's cute. I need cuter minions, gynoids only go so far, you know?"

"So you like 'em tiny, huh?" Chamo-kun asked with a grin.

"She's doll size. I'm the Doll Master. Theming is _everything_ when you market evil." The Dark Evangel added as she walked back into her cottage, wordlessly allowing them to follow after her. "And strong. Not uber strong like me, but she has plenty of potential. I like that too. Oh, an evil apprentice. I think I'll suck her next and convert her to my side."

"I actually think Ranma-san might like that," Negi muttered under his breath.

He wasn't blind to some of the looks his redheaded friend shot the vampire. Plus, well, she was an insanely devoted magical scholar. He wouldn't be surprised if she was willing to sell her soul just to get the chance to study under a magical master like the legendary Dark Evangel.

Still, as her teacher Negi wasn't entirely okay with that.

"Really?" Evangeline-san said with a smirk. "Oh, I'm so exploring that when I get out of this crappy prison. She's pretty much ageless too, so she'll still be kicking even if I fail again this time."

Also Evangeline-san when sick just seemed to… talk. A lot.

"Wait, again?!"

"Psh," The blonde snorted as she sank into her couch and snuggled under her blanket. "You think I've been stuck here all these years and done nothing? That's dumb. You're dumb. Now get me some blood. My throat is scratchy."

"Aniki! Don't do it!" Chamo-kun warned.

Negi was actually a little offended. Of course he wouldn't! Evangeline-san was the enemy! Even if she was looking really pathetic right now and he really wanted to help her feel better.

Okay… So maybe Chamo-kun was right to remind him not to be an altruistic idiot.

"What the-? I meant grab a blood bag from the fridge you nitwit!"

"Still a bad idea," Chamo-kun insisted. "What if it's enough to power her up to allow her to attack us."

Both the mage and vampire blinked.

"That familiar of yours is actually quite smart isn't he? From his reputation I'd have thought he was nothing but a pervert."

"I'll have you know, people underestimate perverts."

"He has his moments?" Negi shrugged helplessly.

"Now, be a _good_ teacher and help your ill student, Sensei." Evangline-san said mockingly and pointed a dainty foot at the fridge. "I'm so tiny and fragile."

"How about you wait for Karakuri-san to get back and help you with that." Negi insisted. "I came here to deliver something."

"...Tch." The blonde clicked her tongue and turned away. Her ice bag sliding over her eyes a little. "Don't want it."

"I'm afraid challenges don't work like that," Negi told her as he slid the letter over the coffee table between them.

"I can't hear you, lalala~!" She sang and slid the ice bag over her eyes while huddling deeper into her blanket cocoon.

"Can I take it then that we're going to fight a no holds barred duel?"

"I can't hear you but I can imagine you in gasping horrible pain as I turn you into a prune."

"I'll take that as a yes." Negi said as he stood. "Come on Chamo-kun, we need to work on a dead man's switch to make sure she can't get my blood if I lose. Maybe a disintegration spell?"

"W-Wait what!?" The vampire asked, flabbergasted by Negi's bluff as she pushed up her ice bag and pouted. "That's cheating!"

"I'm sorry? I can't hear you over my plans of being a sore loser."

"Touche, boya." Snarled the vampire as she glared childishly at him. "Ugh, fine. What are your silly terms?"

"No mass destruction. We keep collateral damage to a minimum."

"Axe that! I need to flex, flex!"

Chamo-kun snorted. "You level a building and you can be sure to have half the Academy come down on you like a hornet's nest. You _really_ want that?"

"Please, the only one with a chance would be Konoe or Takahata. That's _if_ they get lucky."

"And the Dean's army of golems? I heard from Ranma-san that they're quite impressive in both number and quality."

"Doll Master, boya. I have my own army too."

"And do you have a couple thousand dolls?"

"Quality versus quantity." Evangeline-san sneered before sneezing again. "Ugh, curse these allergies."

"With built in laser weapons, missiles and other crazy sci fi gadgets?" Chamo-kun pushed with an ermine smirk.

The vampire threw a tissue at him. It didn't make it that far. "Drat."

_Guess the seal really does a number on her if she's sick and_ this _weak because of it._

"Okay, no mass destruction. What else?"

"No targeting uninvolved parties. Not counting whoever we've recruited so far."

"That's boring though!" Evangeline-san pouted and huddled into her blanket cavern. "But fine, the Dean probably wouldn't like that either. Anything else?"

"Uh, not really?"

"You are terrible at this." The vampire scoffed.

"He is," Chamo-kun agreed. "But that's just the rules of the fight. We still have to discuss the spoils if either side wins."

"You want to regulate _that_ too?" Evangeline-san whined. "If I'm going to keep talking, at least make some tea. Also, you're really taking the fun out of this."

"You can get your dolls to make you tea in a bit, we're almost done." Chamo-kun insisted and pressing down on Negi's shoulders to stop his attempt to stand up to comply.

"No I can't. No magic to move them. And Chachamaru is _taking forever_!" She whined and flopped onto her side.

"I'm, um, not a scoundrel," Negi said as he looked away, knowing he'd be unable to resist helping his student if he didn't. "So in exchange for these terms I'll offer one pint of my blood to you if you win. No more, no less."

Her flushed face peeked out of the blanket, "Can I get a down payment?"

"No," Chamo-kun cut in before Negi could oblige. "Only if you win."

"Robbery. Fine! So what do _you_ want if you live, boya?"

"That you swear on your magic that you stop attacking your classmates outside of self-defense or without just cause as stipulated by the Dean or myself." Negi told her, eyeing the now useless challenge in dismay. He'd put so much effort into it too!

"Classmates. Sure." She readily agreed to that.

"The same applies to anyone in the Academy too." Chamo added.

"Not what you said, but whatever. What else?"

"We can have more than one victory condition." Negi reminded her. "Especially since all we're asking is that you follow the terms of your sealing. And we have one last condition."

"Fine. Spit it out because you're a boring platypus."

"I want you to attend classes regularly from now onwards."

"That's very lame. And ruins my evil plans on ruining my attendance record to sabotage your teacher's performance evaluation."

"You were trying that?" Negi gaped in surprise.

"Wow, you think of all the little things." Chamo-kun whistled.

"You didn't notice!?" The vampire groaned as she pulled her blanket over her face. "All that effort wasted. Ugh!"

"Master, I'm home." Karakuri-san declared as she opened the door and walked in clutching a grocery bag. "I've brought the strawberry flavoured anti-flu potion as you requested. Oh, Negi-sensei! What are you doing here?"

"Certainly not helping to take care of his ailing student!"

"We're just leaving actually." Negi declared as he stood. "We came to deliver the terms of challenge for our upcoming duel. We just finished with that."

"I see," Karakuri-san nodded. "You will be Master's opponent this time?"

Negi nodded.

"Then I look forward to facing you and whoever your companions may be during the upcoming blackout, Negi-sensei." The robot girl said with a polite bow that Negi promptly returned.

"Chachamaru! Why are you being so polite to our enemy?"

"He is still our Sensei, Master." Karakuri-san reminded the blonde.

"Please, if I wanted to I could destroy him now!" Evangeline-san proclaimed as she shot to her feet on her couch, revealing that underneath her blanket she was wearing very poofy pajamas that reached her elbows and knees. "You fell for my-my-my-achoo!"

Her little declaration was ruined when she was sent crumpling to the ground by the force of her sneeze where she curled up in a miserable ball of sickness.

"Ah! Master! Please keep your dramatics to a minimum while sick!" Karakuri-san pleaded as she rushed to check on the vampire.

"I'll, uh, take my leave now." Negi said nervously as Chamo-kun urged him with nudges towards the door.

"Chachamaru! I'm all sweaty! Run me a bath. And don't skimp on the bubbles!"

Taking that as dismissal, Negi bolted. He might be a naive idiot but even he knew that seeing a girl naked was liable to get him into a world of hurt.

"Have a good day, Negi-sensei!" Karakuri-san called out after them as Negi and Chamo-kun fled the scene.

"That was surreal." Chamo-kun said as Negi finally stopped to catch his breath. "A sick vampire? A polite robot girl that's gonna try to kill us in a couple days? _And_ we made terms with them!? When did our world stop making sense?"

"When we came to Mahora," Negi told his old friend seriously as he started walking at a more sedate pace back to the dorms. "But we can worry about our sanity later. Let's go report what happened to the others. Maybe they'll have some insight to share that we missed."

Chamo-kun shot him a look like he was some kind of unrecognizable alien that made Negi pout a little, "Who are you and what happened to my naive, little Aniki?"

"He's growing up?" Negi offered with a shrug.

"It's about time!" The ermine fairy cheered as he pulled out a chocolate cigar from out of nowhere and began 'smoking' it. "Now, if you'd just listen to my plan, we can have twenty Pactios in five days. This is how we start-"

"No."

"Dang it."

* * *

"You're an idiot." Ranma declared with finality as she heard the absurd turn of events that Negi-sensei described. It wasn't because she was totally jealous of him getting to see how cute Eva-san could be when sick, not at all. "Did you at least set a date?"

"Not exactly," Negi-sensei confessed. "But Karakuri-san messaged me after I left to confirm it'll be on the night of April ninth. As Evangeline-san will be sick till then at least."

"You do realize that's the day that Mahora Academy has a four hour blackout to do maintenance on the electrical grid, right? The same grid that powers the seal that keeps Eva's power sealed. She chose that day on purpose!"

"Even sick, Eva-san just makes circles around you." Asuna-san dryly noted.

Negi-sensei looked offended by the notion.

"I-I wanted it to be a fair fight." Negi-sensei countered. "I was always going to fight her during the blackout anyway. You were the one who said we shouldn't be underhanded, didn't you Ranma-san?"

"There's being honorable and there's being outright suicidal. This is very much the latter! Ugh! If my sister-"

Ranma cut herself off and covered her mouth in shock. She'd called Haruna her sister! Not foster sister or cousin or anything else. She'd referred to the greenette as her sister. Full stop. Without any qualifiers at all. That was a slip of the tongue that Ranma almost never made. She knew her feelings for Haruna and her parents, they were her family, but… She wasn't ready to admit it yet. She wasn't sure she ever would.

"Ran-chan/Ranma-san, are you alright?" Ucchan and Nodoka-san asked in concern.

"She's fine." Haruna told them as she pulled Ranma into a hug. "Just give her a moment."

"It's okay Onee-sama," the greenette whispered to her and her alone as they hugged. "I know how you feel. There's no need to say it."

Ranma nodded and cuddled into her sister's side. Touched by her understanding and ashamed at her own inability to voice her own feelings.

"Negi-sensei," Ranma managed to get out despite her turbulent emotions. "If anything happens to Haruna, you'll answer to _me_. You got that?"

Gulping nervously, Negi nodded as he looked like a deer in the headlights.

* * *

" _She's in the bathhouse, Negi-sensei."_ Miyazaki-san informed Negi and Asuna-san over their headphones as they made their way to their confrontation with Evangeline-san on the fateful night of April 9th.

Unlike the two of them, Haruna-san and Miyazaki-san along with Chamo-kun were holed up in their dorms, which Negi and Ranma-san had warded as heavily as they could and were under Kuonji-san's protection. From there, the mind reader was using headsets to rely intel derived from her artifact to Negi and Asuna-san.

Stepping into the dorm's expansive bathhouse, the two would be vampire fighters found themselves facing not only Evagenline-san and her robot familiar, Karakuri-san, but also the strangely dull eyed Sasaki-san, Akashi-san, Okouchi-san, and Izumi-san that were oddly enough dressed up like maids. All of them were lounging on top of a pavilion and waiting for them.

"Welcome, Negi- _sensei_." Evangeline-san greeted with a malicious grin, referring to Negi's title mockingly. "Ready to fight?"

"What are the others doing here?" Negi asked, eyeing the unexpected additions to the fight, while Asuna was too busy just gaping incredulously and Haruna could be heard over their headsets mumbling about taking notes presumably inspired by what she was seeing through the video feeds from the cameras built into their headsets. The less said about Chamo-kun's reaction to the sight, the better.

"Also, why are you wearing an illusion? Isn't that unnecessary?" Negi commented on the illusory appearance that Evangeline-san wore that made her look like an adult dressed in a rather revealing dominatrix inspired outfit complete with a cape.

" _Focus Sensei!"_

"D-Don't tell me what's unnecessary Mr. Letter-Of-Challenge!" Evangeline-san snapped, her concentration broken as in a poof of smoke she returned to her true petite form in the same rather scandalous caped outfit but which fit her new frame much more modestly. "Hmph! Just for that, I won't play nice!"

"Um, ignoring Negi's stupid question." Asuna-san asked. "Mind at least explaining his more logical one? Why are the others here?"

"Oh? Them?" The vampire looked at her classmates with nary a care and shrugged. "I was feeling rather peckish lately so I drank their blood and made them my thralls in the process. Win-Win right? And before you ask, I 'recruited' them before the challenge was issued so they totally aren't breaking the rules by being here."

" _That fiend! I thought her thralls would be boys, not girls."_ Haruna-san muttered over the radio. " _Seriously, classic novels are so wrong."_

" _But those girls are hot~! Maid outfits for the win!"_ Chamo-kun shouted excitedly.

" _Asuna-san!"_ Miyazaki-san cried out over the radio to drown out Haruna-san and Chamo-kun's ranting. " _Hit them with your artifact. That should free them_."

"Right! Leave it to me!"

"Like I'll make it so easy on you!" Eva shouted. " _Sagitta Magica, Series Glacialis!_ "

At her invocation, a barrage of icy magical arrows flew at the Negi and Asuna-san.

" _I've got this!"_ Haruna-san declared proudly. " _Flying Kite Shields! Save the day~!"_

Suddenly, as if appearing out of thin air, a dozen kite shields with a set of thrusters mounted on their backs placed themselves between Negi and his Ministra and the incoming attack.

"Oh? What cute little toys? Let's see if I can shatter them with your hopes!" Eva cackled, evilily.

" _She's enjoying this way too much."_ Miyazaki-san murmured. " _She's literally thinking about cackling over our dead bodies…while sipping tea. Is confronting her really a good idea?"_

"Too late to worry about that," Asuna-san told the shy mind reader as she shot out from behind their shield wall and charged the vampire and her cohorts.

Immediately, the enthralled girls jumped off the pavilion they'd all been sitting on and counter charged.

"Gotcha," Asuna-san shouted as she smacked Izumi-san over the head, immediately sending her collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

"That's what you were after?" Eva-san laughed incredulously. "Pathetic. Chachamaru, go stop her. Don't let her cut the control over the others."

" _Should I-_ " Miyazaki-san began, but was cut off.

"Stick to Eva-san." Negi ordered. "I'll fend off Karakuri-san. _Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae!_ "

Dozens of arrows of wind shot from his staff and curved around the wall of shield golems and zeroed in on the mechanical girl. She dodged a couple with some impressive gymnastics, but the remainder hit her dead on and proceeded to restrain her in ropes of swirling winds.

"Che," Eva-san snorted. "The boya's got _some_ talent after all."

While Negi was dealing with Karakuri-san, Asuna-san was using her magical enhancement to race after Akashi-san.

The star of the Mahora Junior High School basketball team tried to use her formidable athletic ability to evade but enhanced by Negi's magic, Asuna-san was more than a match for her and managed to land a solid smack with her harisen to her leg that sent the basketball star tumbling to the ground. Jumping back, Asuna-san avoided a punch from Okouchi-san and flipped over Sasaki-san's ribbon which had been snaking towards her with the intent of ensnaring her.

She danced backwards as the gymnast went all lion tamer with her ribbon, "How does she make it look so threatening?!"

" _You know how crazy dexterous she is, just take out Akira-san first so you can focus on Makie-chan."_ Haruna told them over the radio.

"Easier said than done," Asuna-san shot back.

"Here, let me help!" Negi shouted. " _Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae!_ "

"Is that the only spell you know boya?" Eva-san taunted with a yawn. " _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_!"

Dozens of arrows of raw darkness intercepted Negi's own wind arrows, negating his attack entirely.

"Now now boya, let Kagurzaka struggle on her own. It's amusing~"

Thankfully, Asuna-san didn't need his help. Ducking under Sasaki-san's ribbon once again as it snapped in her direction like a whip, she swung her harisen in a wide arc and caught Okouchi-san in the stomach as the school swimmer tried to hop away from her attack, taking her out of the fight.

Immediately, she spun and caught Sasaki-san's ribbon as it coiled back to its owner and in a feat of incredible strength used it to pull her into range of her artifact. One fateful smack later, and Sasaki-san was out like a light.

"Wow!" Negi gasped at the display.

"Meh, that's not very impressive." Eva-san opined. "Chachamaru stop playing around and show them what real strength means."

"Yes Master," the mechanical girl said as in a burst of strength she shattered the windy bonds that held her in place before in a blur of speed, made possible by a set of thrusters opening up on her shoulders, she slammed into Asuna-san with a pair of open palm strikes that sent the orangette flying.

"Asuna-san!" Negi cried out worriedly.

"You have more to worry about than your Ministra, boya." Eva-san declared ominously as she finally stood up for the first time in the fight so far. The whites of her eyes changed to black as she graced him with a fanged smile. "It's time I got serious and show you what a _real mage_ can do. Mwahahaha!"

* * *

"For the nth time, why am I here?" Ranma asked the Dean with a glare, as they sat in his office watching Negi and co. and Eva-san fight it out. "Why can't I be out there helping them?"

Much to her annoyance, Takahata-sensei had dragged her here the moment classes ended leaving her no chance to so much as offer the others advice on the upcoming fight. All she'd managed was to shoot off a message to Haruna that she'd been called to the Dean's office.

"You called this a fair fight correct, Dean-sama?"

"It is," the old man insisted.

"How is _that_ fair?" Ranma retorted, pointing at the hardlight screen the older mage had conjured and which showed the vampire unleash a hellish storm of hail and dark bolts on Negi-sensei and Asuna-san. "The _Dark Evangel_ is fighting at full power-"

"She's holding back quite a bit act-"

"Irrelevant," Ranma cut Takahata-sensei off harshly. "With the blackout she has _access_ to her full power! And thus can at _any moment_ use it to wipe the floor with Negi-sensei and Asuna-san!"

"I do believe Negi-kun worked out some terms with her."

"And how much do you think she'll care about those, Dean-sama, when she gets all excited? She's riding a power high! Do you expect people like that to remember what promises they made?"

The Dean shifted uncomfortably, before replying. "We will intervene if she does cross that line. However, for now things are still within safety parameters and we will continue the test of Negi-kun and his party."

"Within safety parameters!?" Ranma shouted indignantly. "Have you ever fought Eva-san at her full power? If so, then maybe you should get out there and fight the Dark freaking Evangel at her _peak_!"

"Now now, Saotome-kun, please just relax." The Dean said in a placating manner but to Ranma it just sounded patronizing.

"I will not calm down! You can sit here in your cushy little office. I'm actually going to go try and help." The petite redhead snarled and bolted for the door.

Takahata-sensei shifted, as if he was going to grab her shoulder, but he halted at the last second.

Heading down the hall, Ranma grabbed the gear she stashed in a nearby janitor's closet.

_Useless adults. Always, they just always end up like this!_ Ranma thought furiously.

Why couldn't there be more good adults like her Oji-san and Oba-san?

Pushing these thoughts aside, the cursed mage cast her augmentation spells on herself and raced across the expansive campus towards the fight. Not for the first time cursing how absurdly oversized the place was. Even flying over the campus' rooftops, Ranma was still minutes away.

"Come on, come on." Ranma murmured as she pulled up a hardlight magic screen to allow her a view of the fight that was still raging on. The damned thing was being broadcast on the campus' local Magical T.V. station for gods' sake! And no one was stepping in to help the clearly outmatched boy mage? Were all the mages on campus really _that_ spineless?

Thankfully though, it seemed that Negi-sensei was actually putting up a decent fight. Thanks to Nodoka-san's artifact, Negi-sensei's team was able to have something of an upper hand even! It was letting Negi-sensei and Asuna-san react to Eva-san's moves even before she made them, allowing them to attack when she was in between spells or preparing for a big one whilst shifting to defense whenever she got a spell off. The latter was surprisingly often even with Nodoka-san's help thanks to Karakuri-san running interference for her Master but the teacher-student duo weren't being thrown around like ragdolls by Eva-san's spells at least, being able to hunker down behind Haruna's golems ahead of everything the vampire threw at them.

As expected, mind reading was crazy powerful in a fight. Even if Eva-san was still technically ahead as she played it smart and was moving the fight towards one of the main bridges that connected the campus to the mainland and her objective: Freedom.

"Come on, you're letting her dictate the pace." Ranma growled out as she gnawed on her lower lip. This was complete madness. How could this even function as a _lesson_ for Negi-sensei? It was cruel in her mind.

The fighting had just reached the nearest bridge when Eva-san suddenly burst out laughing.

" _You've allied yourself to the mind reader, Miyazaki Nodoka, haven't you boya?"_ The vampire's charming voice said through the projection. " _It's how you've avoided getting blown away so far, isn't it? I was wondering why you two_ always _seemed ready for whenever I hit you with something hard."_

" _Oh come on! No way you could have known that!"_ Asuna-san raged.

" _I'm part of campus security. Of course, I'm made aware of any new artifacts that students get. For perfectly legitimate reasons."_

" _...That's bullshit!"_

" _I know. Really, the game was weighed against you from the start, boya. Too bad for you."_ The vampire taunted with a dramatic, and sexy, flick of her long, lustrous hair behind her shoulders. " _Now die! Veniant spiritus glaciales obscurantes!"_

" _Asuna-san! Dodge!"_

" _Yeah, I got that from Honya-chan, thank you very much!"_ The aforementioned redhead said as she picked the tiny teacher up and jumped behind the safety of one of the towers of the suspension bridge they were fighting on.

" _Cum obscurationi flet tempestas nivalis!_ _ **Nivis Tempestas Obscurans!**_ "

At her invocation, a tornado of frost and dark energy shot forth and engulfed the entire area around her two opponents.

" _Oho? Should I stop with the novice spells? I do feel that I need to actually strain my magical muscles. It's been a while after all. How about it, Boya?"_

"Crap, crap, crap!" Ranma flew faster as she glanced every few seconds to the screen. Eva-san wasn't playing anymore. She was switching gears. Surprise and tactics wasn't working for her thanks to Nodoka-san, so she was relying on brute strength. Strength that could, with the slightest mishap, legit kill her friends!

_I'm pretty sure she's not_ really _trying to kill them. She's not trying hard enough to be, but if she's pulling out the big guns and she miscalculates even a tiny bit… Asuna-san would probably survive thanks to her magic cancel, but we'll be sending Negi-sensei home in a matchbox._

As she got closer to the bridge where the fight was being fought, her breath started to mist due to the cold that had surrounded the bridge as a result of Eva-san's spell. Coming to a stop, Ranma pulled up her crossbow and took aim.

"Focus." Ranma murmured as she held her aim steady as she lined up her shot at the floating target that was Eva-san. Her chest felt tight as she felt her trigger finger waver for a brief moment. Squishing down the feeling, the redhead tightened her index finger.

"You really shouldn't shoot your crush, Ranma-chan," Takahata-sensei said chidingly as he jumped down from nowhere to land right in front of her. "Eva-san probably would like it, but I doubt anyone else would."

"I don't have a crush!" She squeaked on reflex, eyes wide as she nearly shot her Sensei for even insinuating such a thing. "B-Besides, are you here to stop me?"

"You really shouldn't interfere, Ranma-chan." The bespectacled hunk - Hey! She might like girls, but she could recognize a hunk when she saw one. - told her in a genuine voice. "Negi-kun needs this victory. And he needs it to be his own."

Ranma could actually see the logic in that, but…

"T-This is too much like what _he_ did to me. Throwing people into an unwinnable situation and seeing if they can sink or swim. That's just- I-I can't. I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Ranma ended her speech with a shout that carried the full weight of her conviction.

"I see," Takahatai-sensei nodded respectfully. "Unfortunately, I _really_ cannot let you intervene. It honestly is for everyone's good."

"I don't ca-"

Ranma was cut off as in a single blurred movement of his hand out of his pocket, Takahatai-sensei slammed his magic packed fist into her stomach. The force of the blow was so powerful that it instantly _shattered_ her _Armis Testa_ (Shell armor) and sent her flying back. She would have slammed into a tree standing just behind the building she'd just been standing on but before she flew off its roof, Takahata-sensei blurred behind her with Shundō (Instant Movement) and caught her.

The redhead wanted to curse him out for knocking her out like this, but the edges of her vision was turning black thanks to the spell he'd packed into his punch.

"Rest well, Ranma-chan." The art teacher told her as he picked her up in a princess carry. "When you get up everything'll be over."

* * *

The fight was going to hell, but one thing that Asuna was sure about was that Paru's golems were certainly helping. She'd lost count of the number of times they'd jumped - or was it jetted? - in front of her when either Eva-chan or Karakuri-san was on the attack and saved her from getting either badly beat up or outright killed.

This time was no exception and they'd done their job splendidly and formed a protective little dome over her and Negi-kun as they hunkered behind the bridge tower and weathered Eva-san's insanely overpowered spell.

" _Veniant spiritus aerialis fulgurientes!_ " Negi chanted softly under his breath as the last of the storm the vampire unleashed passed.

_Okay, I'm really starting to think she's genuinely trying to kill us now._ Asuna thought as the surviving shield golems pushed aside the already disintegrating remains of their inert counterparts and formed a protective floating ring around her and Negi as they stepped out from behind the tower.

" _Cum fulguriationis flet tempestas austrina…_ _ **Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens!**_ "

From the palm he'd pointed towards the vampire shot a directed storm teeming with lightning.

_Maybe Eva-san's spell wasn't overpowered after all… Are all mages so OP?_ Asuna thought even as she used the cover of Negi's flashy spell to charge Eva-san.

Karakuri-san rushed to intercept her, but Paru's golems were on the case and flew in to physically box her in. She responded by destroying them by punching holes clean through them, but there were too many of them. She was still busy trying to get free of them by the time Asuna sprinted past her.

"I'm impressed Boya! You made a hogbog team and actually get me to try! Let's see if you can keep it up, son of the Thousand Master!" Eva-san declared as she broke into evil laughter, having deflected Negi's spell with a mere wave of her hand. Sure, it was covered by a series of barriers, but it was still contemptuous looking as hell.

" _ **Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!**_ "

"Again? Boring!" Eva-chan snorted. "But if you're being a one-trick pony. _**Nivis Tempestas Obscuransa!**_ "

The two spell conjured storms crashed into each other. Wind clashed with ice. Darkness fought with lightning. Ultimately, the two spells were evenly matched though and cancelled each other out. The elemental battle however offered the perfect cover to allow Asuna to finish closing the distance.

Behind her, she saw Karakuri-san move to try and intercept her again only to be waylaid once more by a new batch of Paru's golems.

"Paru! I need a boost!"

" _Gotcha!"_ The golem maker replied dutifully over the radio as one of her Kite Shields shot ahead of her at the perfect height for a jump.

With a leap that would put professional athletes to shame, Asuna jumped onto the flying golem and used it as a springboard for another jump. The golem fell inert the moment her foot touched it but it had managed to give her the boost she needed and that was all that mattered.

Not that Paru agreed.

" _Watch it with your artifact, Asuna-san!"_ The mangaka complained over the comms.

Asuna-san rightfully ignored her. She was a little too busy

"Ah, whoa whoa!" Asuna shouted as the jump from the shorted out golem failed to give her enough lift and instead of the head shot she was aiming for all she managed was a glancing blow against Eva-san's groin.

The vampire howled in absolute agony even as she fell out of the air as her magic failed due to the effect of Asuna's power. To add insult to painful injury, it seemed that Eva-san's clothes were made by or imbued with magic too and they too were destroyed by the orangette's hit.

" _Did we just win with a groin shot?!"_ Paru asked over the radio.

"That's what you get, you bratty ha-" Asuna-san cheered as she landed, only to be interrupted as Karakuri-san ran up, knocked her aside and picked Eva-san up.

The robot ran across the bridge at full speed but even then the vampire's voice was easy to hear in the lull of the battlefield.

"I will, somehow, someway, someday _murder_ you. And bring you back just to murder you again. And again. And again." Evangeline-san whispered in absolute anger with eyes that promised nothing short of the most horrific of deaths to all those involved tonight. Somehow.

Negi threw a brace of his wind arrows - _Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae_ wasn't it? - at them but Karakuri-san easily outran his spell by activating her thrusters.

They were just about fully across the bridge when the power abruptly came back on. The result was that they, or more precisely Eva-san with Karakuri-san just being along for the ride thanks to the force involved, slammed into an invisible barrier of some kind that sent them flying back into Mahora.

Both girls tumbled to a stop in front of an exhausted Negi just as Asuna jogged back to his side.

The sudden flight time seemed to have jolted Eva awake from her half-mad ramblings, because she started cursing the failure of her plan.

"Damn it! I was so, so close!" The vampire whined. "Just a few more inches and I would have been free! Free!"

Negi opened his mouth to say something but Asuna just put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let her vent a little," she advised her charge/teacher.

_Him being both at the same time is something I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to…_

While she was lost in her thoughts, Paru, Honya-chan, Ukyo-san and that damnable ermine, came flying over on an oversized Flying Kite Shield that its creator was directing with verbal commands.

"Descend," the mangaka ordered her creation when it was a stone's throw away from the huddle of former combatants.

The golem obeyed and made a rather unstable descent on its array of thrusters.

"That was a very uncomfortable ride," Honya-chan said as she got off and staggered around trying to regain her bearings. "Haruna, you really need to work on its stability."

"Or maybe go back to the drawing board and come up with a better design?" Ukyo-san suggested more harshly.

Haruna nodded in agreement as she copied her Ministra and took a moment to steady herself after what must have been quite a bumpy ride.

The only one not shaken by the trip over was Chamo-kun who was instead staring intently at Eva-san in a strangely appraising way. Asuna was actually a little confused until the pervert sighed and shook his head whilst muttering something about 'flat'. He earned himself some air time for that thanks to a kick from Paru.

"It's not polite to say that about a lady," the ero-artist said in a chiding whisper accompanied with a glare as the ermine crawled back to his feet.

"This _never_ happened." Eva hissed loudly glaring death at everyone present as she regained their attention.

"Hm, nope!" Negi grinned at her, with only the cheer a child like him could have over winning. He pulled out his class roster book and a pen. "In fact, I'm going to put 'I win' right next to your name!"

"You only won because Kagurazaka did something! She's the one with the broken power!"

"Hehe, don't be such a sore loser, Eva-chan~!" Asuna grinned.

"My patience is endless Kagurazaka. I will _remember_ this. And don't call me that!"

"Doesn't matter, how I won. I did, and now you have to keep your end of the bargain and start coming to classes again."

"Grr, fine! I'll go to your stupid class."

"Huh, goes to show you that Negi-sensei is still pretty childish. Eva-chan too." Paru told Honya-chan.

Negi pouted at this, but Honya-chan let out a giggle.

"That's what makes him so likable though." The little bookworm said as she walked over to Eva-chan, offering her a bathrobe.

Paru just shot her a big thumbs up.

Asuna looked at Paru questioningly.

"Confidence." The ero-artist whispered and a look of understanding crossed the twin tailed orangette's face as she nodded.

Honya-chan just flushed as red as a tomato as she held out the robe. Even giving it a small shake as she tried to emphasize to the vampire _why_ she needed it.

Eva just seemed content to ignore them. Or more likely trying to glare Asuna out of existence through the sheer force of her annoyance as the immortal continued her temper tantrum.

Honya-chan shook the bathroom a second time and the vampire _finally_ turned to look at the mind reader. At which point the bookworm gestured to the blonde's, ehem, nude form.

_Seriously, what kind of lotion does she use? Her skin looks silky smooth._ Asuna frowned feeling a touch jealous.

Glancing down at herself and flushing, Eva grabbed the robe and tightened it around her petite frame.

"Rotten brat, I liked that outfit…"

_Where in the world did you find a shop that sold such a lewd outfit to a runt like you?_ Asuna couldn't help but think though she managed to keep it to herself. She was tired and it had been a _long_ fight. She didn't want a round two, even if the now powerless vampire likely had to keep it to little more than a verbal catfight. _Ugh, I'm sleeping in tomorrow._

"I'm sorry!" Negi bowed to Eva all proper and such. "I'll make it up to you. In fact, I'll even start working on trying to remove the curse on you! That way you won't have to suck me dry!"

"Context, brat!" Asuna bonked him on the head with pink cheeks. Paru giggled creepily while Honya-chan looked dizzy where she stood. Ukyo-san just snorted in amusement while Karakuri-san just blinked as if she didn't get what was going on. Chamo-kun, being the pervert he was, laughed uproariously at the gaffe.

"Huh?!" Eva gaped at him and then snarled, "Like hell I'm going to wait another twenty years for you to get out of diapers and grow up!"

"It won't take that long though, Evangeline-san!" Negi smiled at her cheerfully, "Ranma-san is a magical genius too! With the two of us, we'll surely break the curse in no time!"

Scoffing, Eva crossed her arms and muttered, "Best of luck then, you brats will need it. Chachamaru! I'm tired, so take me home."

"Yes, Master." The robot girl agreed and lifted up the runt into her arms and leapt away, going from rooftop to rooftop after they passed the bridge.

Grinning over their well earned victory, Asuna pressed her hand against Negi's head and gave his hair a ruffle. "Looks like we won, Negi. Congrats on kicking Eva's butt!"

"Yes, thank you Asuna-san! Thank all of you!" Negi smiled so brightly and Asuna felt her chest swell with pride at what they had accomplished.

* * *

**Omake: Laughing at the good ol' days**

Eva pouted as she sat on a loveseat in an empty white void next to a humanoid slime with wing like pseudopods and a tail, who was laughing uproariously as they watched a video of her past self getting taken out by a nut shot in her first fight with Kagurazaka. It even included a sad trombone sound when that pesky girl's harisen hit her. Followed by a splat sound effect when she was caught in Chachamaru's arms.

"I still should have killed her. Painfully."

"Yeah but you ended up liking her. She was your favorite pet project right?"

"Second, but yes." Eva rolled her eyes, cheeks pink.

"Who's the first?"

"You, of course, yome, now stop asking daft questions."

"Fine, I'll focus on the trainwreck we're watching. Did you know there's an alternate edit with different effects and colors? I think there's one or two songs added in too."

"Can I kill that apprentice of yours? This is her doing isn't it?" Eva growled.

"No, I like this one and it would be hard to replace her." The slime said. "Besides, don't pretend. You dote on her like she's our daughter."

"I'm not feeling maternal right now." Eva insisted with a grumble. "And so do you! You let her get away with time manipulation for pete's sake!"

"I won't deny it."

"Aw~! Shishou, Shīmǔ, I knew you cared." An energetic brunette said as she skipped over to the loveseat and handed a disk over to the slime. "Here's more clips, Shishou. Enjoy!"

"More!?" Eva asked incredulously as she glared daggers at the hastily retreating girl. She wanted to strangle that snarky fool so badly.

"Hush, Eva-chan." The slime told the vampire. "I want to watch the movie."

The ancient vampire growled but nevertheless settled back into the seat next to her spouse who extended a long tentacle out of her body to swap the new disk into the player hovering in the air a few feet ahead of them.

"This is from the Kyoto trip I believe," the slime said. "So at least there won't be anything that would embarrass you."

Eva huffed irritably. "I guess not. I was only there on the _last_ day. Maybe we'll get to see _you_ all exposed."

A saucy whistle came from the distance.

"So going to smack her later." Eva swore. "Oh! I know! We can fling her back in time right? Maybe have her reenact Jurassic Park with the dinosaurs in the Mesozoic Era. It can be a movie night."

"I'll think about it," the slime hedged. "For now, let's watch 2-A's misadventures in Kyoto."

"Fine~!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> My god, the groin shot! That was honestly a spur of the moment thing but my god it's set in early Negima?! with its focus on comedy rather than serious storytelling or action. So we stuck with our zanny idea as it fits that early Negima?! tone. Also, Asuna is broken and should be shown so. Thus she got the win, but as Negi's partner he too got the win. Win-Win.
> 
> Nameless: Hope you guys enjoyed our rendition of the classic Negi v. Eva showdown. In keeping with our tradition when handling canon arcs/scenes in our fics, we stuck broadly to canon but changed up as much as we felt we could get away with. Like the groin shot. Gotta emphasize the groin shot. XD
> 
> And like usual our Omakes show little hints of the future. Or do they?!
> 
> Nameless: So anyone up to guessing the foreshadowing embedded in the omake? If you are, drop us a review with what you think it's hinting about the future.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	14. Trip into Chaos

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Fourteen: Trip into Chaos**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was a few days after Negi-sensei's battle with Eva-san and Ranma was in her dorm room packing for the upcoming school trip to Kyoto. As she did so though she couldn't help but grumble unhappily at the sham of a test the Dean put her through during the Eva incident.

Supposedly, he had been testing her ability to not behave 'recklessly' by seeing if she'd listen to his commands to not try and help Negi-sensei in his fight with Eva-san. She'd failed of course, earning herself that punch from Takahata-sensei as a physical reminder of the consequences of recklessness as explained to her in the long lecture about the need for restraint she'd been forced to endure in the aftermath.

_It was all bullshit. The test, the lecture, everything! All of it was just a waste of my time!_ Ranma thought to herself angrily as she stuffed a stack of clothes into her travel bag. _There's no way I would have just stood by and done nothing while my_ friends _were in trouble, no matter how 'reckless' intervening was._

It was such a lie, they just wanted to _test_ Negi-sensei. It didn't matter what the redhead would have done. Not unless she had made a Pactio with him and joined the little gaggle of girls that were actually _allowed_ to help him. Oh, that was fair but outside ' _interference'_ wasn't allowed?

It was chaffing how bullshit it all was. How letting her sister possibly die was alright as long as Negi-sensei was tested. Ugh! Anger boiled within her while she took stock of her toiletries.

Unbeknownst to the distracted mage, a single golden butterfly sat innocently atop one of her dressers and watched her stewing in her anger while it silently assessed her. Just as she finished zipping up the main compartment of her bag, the insect gave an uncharacteristic nod before disappearing in a cloud of shimmering dust.

Shoving her socks into the suitcase, Rama turned for her panties next but paused when she heard a knock at her door. Heading over, she opened it and saw no one there causing her to huff in annoyance at the childish prank. She was about to close the door when she spotted something just in front of her door.

An old tome laid there with a note sitting innocently on top of it.

Picking both up, Ranma read the note with suspicion completely dismissing the butterfly that appeared out of nowhere to flutter around her excitedly as she did so.

_Dear Saotome Ranma-san,_

_You don't know me, but I know you. Stalkerish, yes? Well, worry not. I was observing your part in the recent confrontation with the Dark Evangel and as a scout, of sorts, of potential talent was quite impressed by your determination to aid your friends despite the lack of an impact you'd have likely made. It was honestly very inspiring and it was a great shame that Takahata-san interrupted you before you could._

_In appreciation of your valiant attempt and in an effort to cultivate your great potential, I would like to offer you a gift: the Book of Origins. It is a unique tome that has come into my possession, which despite my best efforts my own meager talent in the mystic arts has not allowed me to utilize. It is my hope that your determination and raw talent will allow you to succeed where I've failed._

_All the best._

_Yours sincerely,_

_An anonymous admirer_

"An admirer?" Ranma thought with a frown as she examined the unassuming tome. It didn't look any different from any other decently old magical grimoire. "It mentioned watching the Eva Incident. Must be someone in campus… Hmm…"

On one hand, she was a little creeped out by someone claiming to her admirer. On the other hand, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If someone was gifting her a magical grimoire she'd graciously accept. They didn't grow on trees after all.

"Better check it for traps and whatnot," the redhead muttered as she cast a host of diagnostic spells on the grimoire she was currently holding. "All clear, huh? I guess I can rule out a prank then, my spells would've picked up any of the usual prank spells. Still can't fully rule out something malicious though. My spells aren't quite sensitive enough to pick up all the signs of such."

Still…

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Ranma declared with determination as she retreated to the living room area of the dorm room and cautiously flipped the book open.

At first, all she saw was a blank page but that soon changed as with a light magical glow ink seeped to the surface of the parchment and organised itself into recognizable words.

"The Book of Origins," Ranma read. "A tome that seeks to impart to worthy students the art of identifying one's Origin and how to make use of it to enhance one's magic."

_One's Origin? What's that?_

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the book flipped a page on its own and like before ink seeped out of the previously blank page before shaping itself into proper text.

"A person's Origin is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. By following this natural impulse in the working of their magic, a mage can greatly enhance the effectiveness of their spellcraft."

Below this simple explanation was a more theoretical treatise that explained the concept in greater depth that Ranma devoured with all the vigor of the dedicated magical scholar that she was. Most important of it all though was the ritual included therein that would help her identify her origin.

"Looks simple enough," Ranma concluded after reading the details of the ritual twice. "Let's do it."

Gathering as much of her magic into herself as she could, Ranma begin chanting the ritual words.

"It is in knowing oneself that we achieve completion. Through this, we become a paragon of our truest nature and rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release my inner nature beyond the body, beyond the soul. Let my most perfect eidolon show itself."

As she finished her chant, she released the magic she was gathering and let it suffuse her body. As it did, it carried into her mind the formless ideas and concepts of her Origin. She saw a mass constantly being forced into one shape or another by external forces but always breaking free and transforming into something amorphous.

_Shapelessness_. Ranma thought to herself with a gasp. _My Origin is shapelessness. No matter what shape I take I'll always reject it and take another._

A small burst of magical energy from the Book of Origins had Ranma opening eyes she didn't even realize she'd closed and turning to glance at the grimoire.

It seemed that in response to her discovery of her Origin, the pages of the book had blackened with ink and was in the process of forming into a new mass of text. As it finished, she was pleased to discover that it was an index of spells that corresponded with her Origin.

"Corrosion element, huh?" Ranma noted with a grin. "I guess that fits well with someone whose Origin is a rejection of solid shapes."

As she dove into the study of these new spells, Ranma's unhappy mood from earlier was forgotten as a broad smile grew on her face.

* * *

Hours later, Ranma heard Haruna finally return from wherever she'd run off to for the better part of the day.

"I'm back," the greenette greeted as she came into the room. "Whatcha doing Onee-sama?"

"Nothing much," Ranma informed her foster sister as she put a bookmark into the Book of Origins. "Just reading this new grimoire I just got."

"You bought another one?" Haruna said with a groan.

"Something like that," Ranma hedged, before quickly redirecting her foster sister's attention before she could chide her for her addiction to collecting grimoires. "But enough of that. It's getting late. Want to go grab dinner?"

Haruna thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Sure."

"Let's go then," Ranma said with a grin.

As the two sisters left to have their evening meal, neither noticed a butterfly sitting on a windowsill and looking in at Ranma with what could only be described as satisfaction.

* * *

"Alright! I cannot wait to hit Kyoto."

Haruna's giddiness was infectious because Ranma couldn't fight the smile as she watched her sister bounce about as Negi-Sensei did a headcount before they were allowed to board the bullet train that would take them and their yearmates to Japan's ancient former capital for their end of the year field trip.

As part of the trip, they had been organized into groups. In their group, it was Ranma herself, Haruna, Nodoka-san, Ucchan, Konoe-san, Sakurazaki-san and Asuna-san.

"Excuse me." Sakurazaki-san said as she shuffled in once they'd been given the go ahead to board, leaving their group behind as she went to grab her own seat.

"Set-chan…" Konoe-san frowned, earning some glances from her group even as they followed after the anti-social girl.

"So if you're calling Sakurazaki-san that, is it safe to assume you two know each well?" Ranma asked the Dean's granddaughter curiously.

"Mmhm. We've known each other since we were little, but I guess we just drifted apart." The usually upbeat girl said, a brittle smile on her face.

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Asuna-san said, sounding just a tad hurt.

"It never came up?" Konoe-san said with a nervous laugh as they all filed into their assigned cabin.

_Curiouser and curiouser._ Ranma thought, sensing quite the story behind all this. She wasn't the only one if the way Haruna's eyes lit up with interest was any indication.

"Isn't our group a little, you know..." Nodoka-san shuffled in place, glancing at the other groups. "Yue isn't in our group, which is strange since roommates are usually put together."

"Kazakuri-san and McDowell-san indicated they couldn't make the trip," Sakurazaki-san observed coolly as she put away her carry on luggage in the compartment over her chosen seat. "Negi-sensei was probably forced to shuffle the group rosters around to even things out."

"How convenient." Ranma noted as she picked up on the other aspect of things that Nodoka-san was pointing out.

_Though if she's implying what I think she is. Why is Konoe-san in our group?_ Ranma mused as she eyed the aforementioned outlier with a frown. _Everyone else here are magically aware as far as Negi-sensei knows, so why is she included._

"Leave her alone," Sakurazaki-san warned in a barely audible whisper as she shouldered her way out of the cabin. "Or else."

Ranma could only blink in shock at the unexpected threat. _Where did_ that _come from?_

"Set-chan, where are you going?" Konoe-san asked her estranged childhood friend as the latter slid the door of the cabin open.

"Out," the other girl said bluntly as she stepped out of the cabin entirely and disappeared from sight.

_What crawled up her ass and died?_

"Ignore her, Onee-sama." Haruna said as she wrapped an arm around the cursed redhead's shoulder. "Come play a game of Hanafuda with us!"

Ranma sighed but agreed, though she couldn't help her mind from pondering just what was up with Sakurazaki-san.

_It isn't really my business._ Ranma concluded as Haruna began distributing the cards.

For the next half hour or so the girls enjoyed the smooth train ride and played Hanafuda. It was fun and relaxing, easing Ranma from all her anger back on campus.

And of course just as she'd finally started to relax a scream came from a few cabins ahead of them.

Startled, Ranma popped out of the cabin to see what the commotion was about only to be shocked at the sight that greeted her. Out of nowhere, there was suddenly a literal flood of frogs surging towards them.

"Ew! Where did all these frogs come from?!"

"Gross, gross! They're in my hair!"

"Help! Help!"

"Shizuna-sensei passed out!"

"What's going on?!" Negi-sensei exclaimed in bewilderment from somewhere further up the train.

"We're under attack, what else?" Ranma snapped as she thought about what she could do.

"A-Attacked!?" The child teacher gasped in shock. "Are they after the letter?"

_Letter? What letter? And why would this plague of frogs be after a mere letter?_

"Oh! It's safe!" Negi-sensei said with great relief as he raised a letter he'd fished out of his jacket for inspection, only for it to be plucked out of his hands by a bird shaped Shikigami that swept by where he was standing.

"Aniki!" Chamo hissed as he pointed urgently at the bird shikigami that was flying away with the oh, so important letter.

"You're not getting away!" The Welsh boy said with determination as he chased after the shikigami.

_What's so damned important about that letter that it'd cause him to abandon his students!?_ Ranma thought with a snarl. _Some teacher he is._

Furious at the boy's stupidity as she was, there was the matter at hand to deal with. Thus putting the fool out of her mind, she turned her attention towards culling the throng of frogs.

Ucchan seemed to have an answer for that as a rain of combat spatulas came down like the wrath of god, slicing a good portion of them into ribbons. Nodoka-san showed a lot of initiative too, taking her wand out and subtly poking the amphibians, toasting them nice and crispy with every touch of her magical focus.

As much as her initiative was commendable, her actions were nevertheless risky as hell as she was using magic openly.

"Nodoka-san," Ranma called out, shaking her head as the fire mage turned to her.

"But-"

Ranma just gestured towards Konoe-san which was cowering on her seat as Asuna-san defended her by using her bag as a bat to slap dozens of the invasive amphibians unconscious with every swing. Thankfully, the orangette was blocking her roommate's view of events but that could change at any moment.

Nodoka-san nodded, collapsing her wand and putting it away into her skirt pocket.

Even as her Ministra saw sense, Haruna however seemed to decide it was her turn to recklessly use magic. Summoning her Pactio Artifact, she hastily drew a quick doodle and conjured a set of snake golems that she promptly unleashed on the frogs. Immediately, the amphibians fled in terror from what were their natural enemies, resulting in a surge of the animals that forced Ranma away from the cabin door.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only consequence of the addition of Haruna's summons to the already chaotic mix.

"Ah! Snakes! Now there's snakes!"

"Misora-san! Aren't you a nun? Pray or something! We have an actual Biblical plague happening!"

"That's not how God works!"

"Ew, they're eating the frogs!"

Pushing her way through the tide of frogs, Ranma forced her way back into their train cabin and over to her adoptive sister.

"Haruna! Get rid of the snakes." Ranma hissed as she bonked her foster sister on the head. "Are you nuts? Seriously, adding snakes to the train? That's insane. It's a bad movie waiting to happen!"

"Sorry, Onee-sama." Haruna said as she complied and rubbed her abused head gingerly. Though there was a flash of frustration in her eyes, but only for a fleeting moment.

"Ran-chan, any good ideas on how to fix this?" Ucchan asked, as she killed another dozen or so frogs with a brace of her combat spatulas.

"Maybe," Ranma said uncertainly. "Let me try something."

_Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura). The redheaded mage thought in her mind as she activated her enhancement spell. The spell didn't just enhance her senses though. It also gave her the feel of a hunter, something she now used to maximum effect as she dialed that up and turned it on the amphibian horde. Reacting immediately, the frogs fled as if their lives depended on it.

_That bought us some time. Time enough to finish this. Magicae Scalpello_ (Magic Scalpel).

Summoning a small magical blade to her right hand, she used the enhanced senses granted to her by _Venator Sphaeram_ to trace the magic that sustained the spell that had conjured the frogs.

_There!_ Ranma crowed to herself as she identified a nexus of the spell's magic on the wall just outside their cabin. It's placement was awfully suspicious, but in that moment the petite redhead had no time to question it.

Lunging at the nexus, she plunged her magical scalpel into the mass of magic cutting its connections to the multitude of frogs and causing them to poof out of existence in puffs of smoke.

_It worked!? Wow! The Book of Origins said that learning about Origins would make identifying the makeup of spells easier and I hypothesized that with that advantage I could do something like this, but actually managing to pull it off… I didn't actually think I could do it._

"Wha-?! Where'd they go?"

"Was this some kind of prank?"

"CGI? Are we being filmed?"

The girls all along the train began questioning what had happened and Ranma grimaced at the mess that would be dealing with the aftermath of this incident. Sure, some in her class weren't the brightest, but the smart ones? They'd figure something was up.

_Well, it's not my business. Leave it to Negi-sensei._ Ranma thought vindictively as she reentered her cabin. _It's not like he was any help with dealing with the incident itself. It's only right he picks up the slack afterwards._

"Everyone okay?" Ranma asked as she closed the door behind her. "It looks like the frogs are gone at last."

"Are _you_ okay?" Haruna asked, pulling Ranma towards her and patting her up and down. "I was so worried when you got swept away like that just now."

"Why?" Ranma asked, blinking in confusion. "I wasn't in any real danger."

Haruna just sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. "Baka Onee-sama."

Ranma pouted at being called an idiot but she couldn't stay mad at her foster sister, not when her hug was so nice.

"You're so easy sometimes, Ran-chan, you know that?" Ucchan said with a chuckle.

"I have no idea what you mean," Ranma insisted even as she blushed.

The others just chuckled.

It was to this scene that Negi-sensei and Sakurazaki-san opened the doors to the cabin to find.

"So the frogs _are_ gone," Negi-sensei said in a mix of surprise and relief.

"You suck sensei. Abandoning your students while we are facing a reenactment of a biblical plague? Pathetic!" Ranma snarled at the young boy, who was clutching an envelope in his hands.

"Onee-sama, that's pretty harsh! Obviously something happened." Haruna argued on her Magister's behalf.

Snorting, Ranma quieted down but she still glared at the boy.

"Do not fault, Sensei." Sakurazaki-san added as she stepped in. "He was merely confident that we could handle such a minor issue."

_Funny seeing how you were nowhere to be seen._ Ranma rolled her eyes.

Chamo seemed to share her skepticism as he looked at Sakurazaki-san with suspicion.

Negi whispered something to the ermine riding on his shoulder, which backed down with visible hesitance. With his familiar reprimanded, he turned to his students.

"Sakurazaki-san is right." Negi-sensei said with an attempt at being stern. "I had faith everyone in 3-A could take care of themselves especially if we work _together_. So let's keep doing that, okay?"

"Of course, Negi-sensei." Konoe-san said with a happy nod. "If we work together there's nothing we can't do."

"Negi-sensei and Ojou-sama is correct," Sakurazaki-san added. "We're on the same team here. We need to work together."

_I know Konoe-san is here and all, but did Negi-sensei and Sakurazaki-san have to lay it on so thick with the double speak? We get it already! She's not the enemy._

A fact that was proven when everyone nodded in agreement to the sentiment.

"Okay then, if everyone's on the same page then I need to go." Negi-sensei said with an apologetic frown. "I need to check on the other groups to make sure they're okay too."

"I'll go with you Negi-kun," Konoe-san said as she stood. "I want to make sure everyone is okay too. Asuna want to come along?"

"Go on, Negi, Konoka." Asuna-san assured him. "I'd like to catch a breather myself. Those frogs tired me out."

"I'll catch up with you all later then." Negi-sensei replied before departing with Konoe-san in tow.

"Um, is there going to be more surprises like that?" Nodoka-san asked, still a bit shaken from before.

"It's unlikely." Sakrazaki-san said with a contemplative frown. "Our enemies wouldn't have been able to set many traps on the train. That said, we need to stay vigilant."

"You're right there." Ranma agreed with a nod. "Haruna, summon up some sentries. No snakes this time."

Her foster sister nodded and in a few quick strokes of her artifact's quill had conjured a quartet of adorable hedgehog golems

"Whoa, that's so cute." Asuna-san beamed as she picked up one the hedgehog golems. "Paru does great work as usual."

"Why hedgehogs?" Ranma asked, confused by the choice.

"Hedgehogs can pass for pets and eat frogs." Nodoka-san pointed out. "It's a smart choice, Haruna."

"Thanks, Nodoka. But you missed out the most important reason."

"Which is?" Ucchan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They're adorable, of course." Haruna said with a grin as she lifted one of her golems to her face and cuddled it against her cheeks. The construct letting out a squee and returned the gesture by nuzzling into the touch.

Truly it was most adorable.

Ranma gave her sister a bemused look and shook her head.

"I'm going to check the other carriages too," Ranma said as she stood.

In all honesty, the reason Ranma left was to avoid Haruna going through one of her 'moe' moments. Don't get her wrong, Ranma loved cute things as well, but Haruna took it to a whole other level.

"I think I'll join you," Ucchan said as she got up too, eyeing the cute little hedgehogs with a frown.

"Too much for you too?" Ranma asked her best friend with a grin as they both stepped out of the cabin.

The swordswoman nodded. "There should be an upper limit on moe, otherwise humanity will go extinct from diabetes soon."

The redhead could only laugh in agreement.

* * *

Class 3-A's first stop once they reached Kyoto was the famous Kiyomizu-dera. The celebrated temple had quite the reputation and because of that most of the class was extremely excited all the ride over. Ranma though couldn't quite get it, not even after hearing her classmates attempt to explain it to her and try to enthuse her at length.

"They sure are excited, huh?" Ucchan said, sounding amused as she and Ranma watched the majority of the class rush over to the vicinity of the temple's two famous stones. Roughly half of that number were attempting the ritual for true love that the temple was renowned for and trying to find the way from one stone to the other with their eyes closed, Asuna-san chief among them. The others like Haruna and Nodoka-san spectated, laughing at their classmates' antics all the while. Sakurazaki-san was watching the madness too, though Ranma doubted she was there for the same reason as the others.

"Want to join them?" Ranma suggested. "I'm sure we can get a good laugh."

"Nah," Ucchan said with a shake of her head. "The place is packed. I don't really want to hang out in a cramped space, even if there is quality entertainment on offer. It's not worth it."

Ucchan wasn't exaggerating. The whole temple grounds was teeming with people. Young and old, men and women, they were all represented. In overwhelming numbers too.

"Not sure we can escape the crowds entirely. This is the 'Cupid of Japan'. The whole temple is going to be full of couples."

"Yeah," Ucchan agreed. "But maybe we can try exploring the less crowded areas? It'll save us from feeling like sardines in a can and maybe let us find something off the beaten track?"

"Why not?" Ranma replied with a shrug, an easy smile coming to her face. "Lead the way, Ucchan."

The two best friends had been wondering the temple's less populated areas for a while, when Ranma suddenly perked up as her senses picked up something.

"Ran-chan?" Ucchan asked, her hand cautiously moving to her watch for some reason.

"I'm picking up magical energy." Ranma informed her friend in a quiet whisper, mindful of the many civilians that still surrounded them. "It's faint, but I think I can track it."

"You want to investigate?"

"We have to," Ranma said with a wary frown. "If it's a threat… There's a lot of people here that could get hurt."

"Should we tell Negi-sensei?" Ucchan asked.

"After we've scouted it out," Ranma declared after considering the matter for a moment. "There's no need to alarm him if it's nothing. And if it _is_ something to worry about, scouting ahead is a good idea so we have some intel on what we're dealing with."

"Maybe we should at least tell him where we're going?" Ucchan insisted.

"Already ahead of you there," Ranma told the swordswoman with a grin as she pulled out her phone. "I'll text him to let him know."

Ucchan wasn't fully satisfied, but she nodded in acceptance.

"Okay, done. Let's go then." Ranma declared as she put away her phone, having quickly sent off a text to their Sensei detailing what she and Ukyo were doing.

"Lead the way, Ran-chan."

Following the trail wasn't hard. It was faint, yes, but also quite obvious in the otherwise magic deprived temple grounds. Eastern magic didn't use magical energy directly after all and relied mainly on ki as its fuel, only transforming it into magical power at the point of activation. Hence, despite Kiyomizu-dera being a major site of Eastern magic, there was _some_ truth to its reputation after all, much of its magical energy was centred in well hidden ritual relics that absorbed both ki and magical energy from the surrounding area to bolster their own power, thus leaving most of the temple grounds devoid of anything beyond low levels of ambient magical energy.

Thus it took them only about ten minutes to find themselves outside a beaten old tent covered in faded butterfly designs.

"This is it," Ranma declared. "The trail leads inside the tent."

"Let me go first," Ucchan said as they moved towards the tent opening. "I'm more of a frontliner than you are Ran-chan."

Ranma frowned at the idea of letting her friend put herself in danger, but had to concede the point about her relative weakness in a frontline role. She thus obediently let Ucchan warily push aside the tent flap and walk inside first, before following behind her.

Inside the withered tent was an elderly woman dressed in the attire of a Miko. A worn smile passed the old woman's face as she saw them and addressed them in a low tone. "Hello dear customers, would you like your futures read?"

Looking at the elderly Miko, Ranma found her to be the source of the magic.

"What's someone like you doing peddling little fortunes for tourists?" The redhead couldn't help but ask aloud.

"Ran-chan." Ucchan scolded.

Ranma just continued to stare at the old woman with narrowed eyes. She might be wrong, but seeing the source of the magic was an old woman she was fairly sure that there was nothing to be worried about. Seeing the old lady, she could practically sense her age and weakness from her aura. It was highly unlikely that she was a threat in anyway.

A withered bark of a laugh escaped the Miko, "Straightforward lass, hm? Well, I'm a weakling of a magician you see. Can only use my magic to glimpse into the future once in a while. And only when it involves people's love lives. So setting up shop here was the best for my skill set."

At her admission, the old woman shrugged, amusement clear for all to see in her face.

Grimacing, Ranma nodded in agreement. If that was all the old woman could muster from her magic, really this job was the best she could go for. Or work at one of those dating websites. "Yeah, that's probably for the best."

"Ran-chan, stop being so rude to the Miko." Ucchan scolded once more, giving her a firm frown and narrowed eyes.

"Think nothing of it, dearie." The elder said with a wave of her hand. "Your friend was just speaking the truth. So, young ladies, would you like me to tell your futures? How about you first, my young fellow mage?"

"Hm…" Ranma wrinkled her nose, feeling unsure.

"Come on," Ucchan said, bumping shoulders with the redhead, "What's the harm of knowing our future love lives? Better than running around blind."

"Fine, alright. Miko-san, please tell me my future love life." Ranma asked, though her tone was rather dry as she held out her hands to the woman.

"Wait a moment. Payment first."

"How much?"

"That'll be 1000 yen, young lady." The fortune teller said with a toothless grin.

Rolling her eyes, Ranma pulled out her purse and handed over the money.

"Thank you for the business," the Miko said with that same gummy smile. "Now could I have your hands please."

Ranma felt the rough hands of the older woman grasp her own, a warm sensation tickled her skin as a subtle glow encompassed the Miko. The old woman closed her eyes reverentially, even as a small gust whipped around the tent.

To a tourist, it might seem like some fancy special effects.

To Ranma, she could taste the magic in the air.

"Hm, yes, yes," The Miko nodded to herself with a pensive look, "You will face many trials and tribulations in your love life. Some easy, some difficult. But in the end, so long as you don't falter you'll thrive and ensure the happiness of a cute lonely maiden."

Ranma felt a blush run down her neck as her face turned as red as a stop sign.

She rallied quickly though. _Nothing she said is all that insightful..._

"Is that right... And will there be Chupacabras too?" Ranma asked as mockingly as she could manage even as she fought down her embarrassment.

The fortune teller chuckled. "There might be, but I just didn't see any."

"Ran-chan!" Ucchan cried out with a frown. "Why are you being so rude and dismissive? Especially when the fortune teller figured out you're a lesbian?"

"That's not all that hard to figure out." Ranma said with a shrug. "My sexuality is written in my aura for anyone who knows how to read it. Just because this woman figured that out doesn't mean anything."

"So you were lying about being able to read the future? You're just reading people's auras?"

The fortune teller just smiled mysteriously at Ucchan's accusation. "Why don't you try it out and see for yourself."

"I will," her best friend with a determined nod as she walked over to the Miko already digging through her purse for the required fee.

Ranma rolled her eyes, but was willing to let Ucchan waste her money if she felt like it. It was not like 1000 yen was all that much money.

"Here you go, Miko-sama." Ucchan said as she handed over the money and offered her hands to the elderly woman expectantly.

Again, the fortune teller pulled off the same little performance with the glowing and wind as she had when 'reading' Ranma before chuckling in amusement.

"What's so funny?" Ucchan asked with a nervous frown.

"Nothing," the Miko said with a grin. "Just that your future is quite amusing."

"What do you mean?"

"You, my dear, will end up with a lost little sus."

Ranma chuckled upon hearing that. Ucchan unfortunately didn't seem to get the joke and she just blinked in confusion.

"What does that mean?" The swordswoman demanded, as she glared at the still chuckling Miko.

"She's saying that you'll end up with a pig, Ucchan." Ranma said, still fighting her giggling.

"W-Why you!" Ucchan cried out with in a huff before she spun on her heel and marched out of the tent.

Ranma trailed after her.

"So what type of pigs do you prefer? A domestic pig or maybe a wild boar?" The redhead teased her best friend.

"Ran-chan~! That's not funny!"

"It totally is," Ranma said with a chuckle.

Both teenagers were so caught up in their own back and forth, neither sported the Miko smiling maliciously as she watched them walk away.

"Does that also mean you're off bacon now? If so, it's a shame."

"I will throw you into a well!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's just I think we're having pork later, so I wanted to warn you."

"I want pork!" Iincho-san called out suddenly, giggling as she and a gaggle of their classmates looked flushed in the face and wobbling around like zombies appeared ahead of the two friends as they were being led around by their more normal looking classmates.

"...What in the world happened?!" Ucchan gaped in horror and Ranma wrinkled her nose.

Why did it smell like sake?

* * *

"Okay, I convinced Konoka to go help look after the drunkards," Asuna-chan declared as she closed the door to the room their group were sharing for the trip. "She won't be back for at least an hour or two, so we should be safe to talk shop."

"I can't believe this happened. The trip was off to a good start after the train too," Negi-sensei said as he took a seat having entered just ahead of the magic canceler, looking forlorn. "I don't know why someone would put a sake barrel by the waterfall. It makes no sense."

"First off, you can't just discount the incident on the train when you make your judgement of the trip." Onee-sama said chiding Sensei. "Second, it was obviously a trap by our enemy. If the tsunami of frogs on the train was any indication, we're dealing with a bunch of immature idiots and getting us all drunk fits in exactly with a trap someone like that would use."

"Onee-sama," Haruna whispered hastily to her agitated sister. "Don't be so mean to Negi-sensei. He's trying."

Her diminutive sister grit her teeth in annoyance but thankfully didn't continue laying into their poor Sensei. The boy looked on the verge of crying from Onee-sama's tongue lashing already and Haruna didn't want to see him bursting into tears.

_Even if Onee-sama has a point._

"Are those who ended up drunk alright?" Nodoka-san asked worriedly, helpfully moving the topic away from Negi-sensei's failings.

"Yeah, we managed to get them into bed after giving them some mouthwash." Asuna-chan sighed, "We'd be riding the next train home if Nitta-sensei or someone else found out they were all drunk. Ugh, this sucks!"

"They'll be fine by morning. A little woozy and the odd headache but otherwise right as rain." Chamo-kun chimed in. "Trust me. I've got plenty of experience with getting drunk."

"Being an alcoholic isn't something to be proud of," Negi-sensei said with a disapproving look at his familiar.

"Particularly when alcoholism is one of the reasons you got exiled," Onee-sama reminded the fairy who wilted under her accusatory stare.

"Enough with ganging up on the lush. Anyone mind telling me what the heck is going on? All this stuff is too weird to be happening without a reason." Asuna-chan said, looking at Negi-sensei, "Spill. You know what shenanigans we're wrapped up into now, don'tcha buster?"

"Before that, I think we should commend Negi-sensei on setting it up so all the magically aware students are conveniently in the same group." Haruna praised their Sensei. With all the put downs Onee-sama was giving him, he needed some compliments or his ego would likely be crushed.

"Huh? Oh yeah! I set it up so it would make things easier to spend time with you all when I had the chance. It's always fun to hang out with people around whom I don't have to hide who I really am."

"So you didn't arrange it in response to the threat to Ojou-sama?" Sakurazaki-san said with a frown.

"Nope," Negi-sensei admitted. "I didn't even know there was a threat until the train when you told me."

"I see," Sakurazaki-san sighed. "It is fortunate nonetheless as the threat against her is dire. So far their attempts have been childish. But they may escalate from here on out seeing as their petty tricks are not working."

"So all these crazy traps were designed to target Konoe-san?" Onee-sama hummed thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking Ran-chan?"

"Just that the traps seem too indiscriminate to be meant to cause harm to a particular person. If anything they seem to be designed to just cause mayhem. But maybe that's the point-"

"They want to tire us out handling all the chaos their traps create." Haruna finished for her sister.

Sakurazaki-san blinked in surprise at the assessment Onee-sama had made.

_Clearly someone underestimates my Onee-sama's brilliance!_

"I fear Ranma-san and Haruna-san are correct," Sakurazaki-san said with a nod. "The rogues likely intend to kidnap Ojou-sama after exhausting us."

"Ran-chan, have any more Stamina Potions on you?" Ukyo-san asked with a tired sigh.

"Sorry, I didn't pack any. Didn't think we'd need them."

"Why would they be after Konoka though?" Asuna-chan asked, bringing the conversation back to the main topic whilst looked confused.

"It's because she's Dean-sama's granddaughter, right?" Haruna said with a snap of her fingers. "He's a powerful mage so no doubt they want to use her as blackmail!"

"What? How nefarious!" Negi-sensei gasped in shock.

"Her father, Eishun-sama is also head of the Kansai Mage Association. While Konoemon-sama is the head of the Kanto Mage Association. So such a plot may very well be plausible." Sakurazaki-san said with uncertainty. "But what we've been able to confirm is that they plan to kidnap Konoka-ojousama, who is from a long magical lineage and thus has a great reservoir of magical power. They intend to use her vast untapped reserves to their advantage in their plans to attack the Kanto Magic Association so as to restart the conflict between the two Associations."

"Why would they do that?" Nodoka asked in a horrified gasp, hands covering her mouth.

"They are rogue members of the Kansai association who see its new goal of peaceful coexistence with their historic rivals in Kanto as an affront and are thus willing to do almost anything to see the conflict renewed."

"And using the living symbol of that coexistence, the daughter of Kansai's leader and granddaughter of Kanto's, to do the deed is just icing on the cake?"

"I'm afraid so, Ranma-san." Sakurazaki-san confirmed.

"So what? They just want a fight and don't care who gets hurt? That's dumb!" Asuna-chan snapped, crossing her arms roughly and scowled off to the side.

"It's not so simple Asuna-chan," Haruna told the magic neophyte. "The two Associations were at war for _centuries_. Plenty of people died on both sides of the fight. Blood feuds were made. Vows of vengeance were sworn. Asking people to just give up on all that even in the name of peace isn't always going to go down well with everyone."

"Well, it's still dumb." The orangette muttered, brow knitted in thought. "It's no excuse to drag Konoka into it. I say we go find these jerks and kick their butts to next Sunday!"

"And where do we find them, Ane-san?" Chamo-kun asked the girl mockingly.

"I don't know, but can't we call for backup from the Dean? We have mages for teachers don't we? If these guys were just waiting for Konoka to come, we should have more security."

"If more Kanto mages came here, it would be war." Onee-sama told their naive classmate with a sigh. "Whatever their reason for being here, they'd be violating Kansai territory. It's why none of the magical teachers except Negi-sensei, an outsider, is here with the school trip."

"You guys don't count? You're mages too."

"Trainee mages," Haruna clarified. "Onee-sama _might_ qualify as a full trained mage in ability, but she's hardly certified. Negi-sensei is the only one qualified between us all and he's Welsh, so automatically not from Kanto. That's the loophole the Dean is exploiting."

Asuna-chan looked ready to start pulling at her pigtails in frustration.

"So do we just sit by and endure?" Nodoka asked quietly, looking displeased by the idea. "Protecting Konoka-san is our priority, yes, but what else _can_ we do?"

"I don't see any other option." Negi-sensei admitted.

"These kind of insane situations just keep happening ever since you became our teacher, doesn't it Negi-sensei? It's almost like you jinxed us." Onee-sama said, leveling a glare at Negi-sensei.

The poor boy tried to stammer out a reply, but couldn't manage anything before his roommate shot up to his defense.

"Lay off, Ranma." Asuna-san hissed, dropping the polite honorific she usually used in her anger. "He's just a kid. None of this is his fault."

Onee-sama was ready to launch into a full on verbal catfight, so Haruna swiftly grabbed her arm and squeezed hard. The redhead shot her a look and the greenette shook her head urgently. Growling unhappily at her request to stand down, her sister nevertheless acquiesced.

"We should rest," Nodoka cut in, covering for the silent conversation between Haruna and her Onee-sama. "We need to be ready for when the rogues attack. Like Ranma-san said earlier, they'll likely want to exploit how tired their traps made us and attack us tonight."

"I concur," Sakurazaki-san added hastily, eyeing the seething Onee-sama warily. "Let's draw up patrol schedules. That way most of us can rest while some of us remain on guard for an attack."

"Yeah!" Asuna-chan punched a fist into her palm, "We're definitely not going to let these bastards touch Konoka!"

"We'll take first shift!" Haruna declared immediately as she pulled Onee-sama to her feet. "And we'll start now. We'll be back in two and a half hours. See you later! Bye!"

_I need to get Onee-sama out of here and as far away from Negi-sensei as possible before she blows her top._

Onee-sama shot her a look that told her she knew exactly what she was doing, but she didn't resist as she dragged her out of the room.

"You didn't need to do that," Onee-sama told her once they were out of earshot. "I could've kept my cool."

"It didn't look like that to me, Onee-sama." Haruna told her bluntly. "Why are you so angry with Negi-sensei anyways? He's just a kid, can't you cut him some slack?"

"That's secondary," Onee-sama insisted. "He's a qualified mage and our teacher. Those supercede any consideration I might have for his age."

"Yeah but mentally? Come on, he's as much a kid as anyone in class. He's got his book smarts but he's hardly got any street smarts."

"That does not absolve him from the responsibility his titles give him." Onee-sama pressed. "If he couldn't handle it, he shouldn't have taken them on."

"Must you be so strict about everything, Onee-sama?"

Her sister just shrugged. "It's the way I am."

Haruna just sighed. "Okay, let's just get this patrol thing done. I'd like to get _some_ sleep tonight."

Onee-sama nodded. "And I'd like to catch Sakruazaki-san later and ask her about her shikigami. She promised to teach Sensei and if she's doing that then she'd better teach me too. It's the least she can do for me helping with _her_ mission."

"You're a cheapskate, you know that Onee-sama?"

"I won't deny it."

Shaking her head at her sister, Haruna just kept walking. They still had two plus hours till their patrol ended and they could get some sleep. It had just started but she already couldn't wait for it to end. She wanted her beauty sleep dammit.

* * *

"Alright, I have all the preparations made." A bespectacled woman chuckled lowly. "Soon Ojou-sama will be in our hands. You ready, rookie?"

The white haired youth looked at her, his near lifeless eyes boring into her as he spoke in a soft voice.

"I suggest we hold off on attacking. The earlier diversions seem to have put our enemies on guard rather than tiring them out. It would be unwise to attack a ready enemy."

"What? We planned all the other stuff already!"

"And those plans are just as valid tomorrow," the newbie said in a deadpan. "They won't be switching hotels their whole time in Kyoto. Just hold off on whatever gimmicks you've prepared for now and initiate them tomorrow instead."

"Tch, you're lucky you came highly recommended, brat. Otherwise I'd spank you for being so impudent."

"Of course, Chigusa-san."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Alright, Canon is already on the derail for the third biggest arc, Kyoto! We are here and it's going to be a crazy ride. Hope you all are ready. Ranma certainly seemed ready to rip into Negi though, whoa.
> 
> Nameless: Okay, some of you might be confused by Ranma's anger towards Negi despite the explanations in the chapter so let me add on. Basically, Ranma thinks Negi is not living up to his lofty titles. She cares little for his age, because at his age she was a badass and expects someone with as many titles as he does to be just as impressive as she was. Yet he isn't and routinely endangers Haruna! Yes, it's his repeated dragging of her sister into dangerous situations that has made her furious.
> 
> And yes, the love life fortune teller was a fun add on. I mean, Kyoto's going to have a few mages making a yen off tourists, so we added it in.
> 
> Nameless: Oh, before I forget. Ranma has showcased a lot of recklessness this chapter hasn't she? It was there before (see her decision to actually fight the Dean in the Library Island arc instead of I dunno calling for outside help), but it was never played up as much as now. This is for two reasons: i) to justify the whole stopping her from interfering with Eva thing being a test thing, which is a reply to the reviewer PikaMew1288 and ii) it's to explain why the hell she would trust something that just got randomly delivered to her doorstep like the Book of Origins. Plus, you can't say that canon!Ranma wasn't an insanely reckless individual.
> 
> She a hotheaded little redhead, that's for sure. It's really why she needs some tempering.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	15. Maddening Tour of the Ancient Capital

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Fifteen: Maddening Tour of the Ancient Capital**

**Beta:**

* * *

The second day of the Kyoto trip was a free and easy tour of the city and Asuna and her group, plus Negi-sensei, had decided to take a leisurely trip to Nara Park. As they were about to set off from the hotel though they ran into a bit of drama.

"Nodoka! Haruna!" Yue called out from just outside the hotel's entrance as she stalked over.

"Yue?" Both Paru and Honya-chan said in startled unison.

"There you guys are, geez." The petite girl frowned as she looked over their group. "I tried to get in touch with you last night, but you were either missing or asleep."

She looked at the rest of the library trio, actually looking upset to a small degree.

"Don't you two want to spend time with me anymore?" The purplette said, looking hurt.

"It's not like that!" Paru assured hastily as Honya-chan nodded in agreement with the greenette. "It's just we're in different groups and it's tough to coordinate our schedules so we can spend time together is all."

"You can blame that on Negi-sensei," Ranma-san said, adding fuel to the fire. "He's the one who decided the groupings."

_Why that little redheaded hellion! What is with her picking on Negi all the time!?_

"Yeah well, this stuff happens. I'm sure the next trip, Negi won't make the same mistake, right Squirt?" Asuna asked, trying to give the kid an out. If Ranma-san wanted to twist words around, that was fine. She'd just have to step in and save the day.

Having grown up dealing with Ayaka, she had picked up a few things here and there on how to handle situations like this. The Iincho could be even more biting with her words than the petite redhead was being. Much worse.

Seeing the pipsqueak roll her eyes in annoyance made Asuna grin ear to ear.

Crisis defused. Mostly anyways. Yue still gave Negi the stink eye, causing the kid to sweat some bullets but she eventually relented.

"Fine, just please don't do it on the next trip, Negi-Sensei." She asked, looking away with a pout.

"O-Of course, Yue-san! It was a numbers issue with it being uneven." Negi bowed in apology and Asuna shook her head. "I had to reshuffle a few groups and made the mistake of splitting you up. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

_He's gotta be more firm, he's a teacher after all._

"Alright, thank you Sensei." With a small wave to Paru and Honya-chan, Yue headed off back to her own group which were only just now filing into the hotel lobby.

 _Did she come out here early just to ambush us so she could interrogate us? Wow! Talk about determined._ Asuna thought, amused at the purplette's dedication. Shaking her head to help her refocus her thoughts, she turned to face her group.

"Alright then, let's head on out!" Asuna said with an enthusiastic pump of her fist and a megawatt smile.

Before they could head out however, Paru cleared her throat, gathering everyone's attention.

Turning towards the mangaka, Asuna watched curiously as she nudged Honya-chan in front of her, causing the bookish girl's face to turn a bright pink. She was clearly incredibly embarrassed as seen by how she fiddled with her hands but after a moment she steadied herself with a deep breath and stood straighter.

_Man, the girl is really wiggling out of her little shell these days isn't she? I mean, just a couple months ago she'd likely fainted from embarrassment if she ended up blushing that badly._

Yet, here she was fighting pass it? It was impressive as all hell.

_I guess learning magic must have really boosted her confidence._

"I, um, I have something to say. To Negi-sensei." Honya-chan said as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and held her short hair back into a tiny makeshift ponytail. Gulping she looked the kid right in the eyes.

"Yes, Nodoka-san?" The teacher blinked in confusion.

Honya-chan took a glance at both Paru and Ranma-san who both offered her encouraging looks in return. Nodding to herself, the purple haired girl stammered out, "S-Sensei! I… like you!"

Silence ensued as Asuna tried to process what just happened. "Wha?"

Negi wasn't much better. "Pardon?"

"Eh?!" Ukyo-san and Sakurazaki-san gaped.

Konoka though gasped in surprise, before quickly catching on and clapping excitedly in appreciation of the daring confession.

_That girl watches too many high school dramas. She's reacting to this like it's a confession from one of her tv shows._

"L-Like? Me? Huh, what? Huh?!" Negi stammered, his eyes spinning as he stumbled around as if the world was shaking under him.

"Negi," Asuna hissed, shaking his shoulder as she finally got over the bomb Honya-chan just dropped. Seriously, where did this new her come from?! "Reply, you dummy!"

"B-But I can't! I don't-! Nodoka-san, I'm sorry but I have no idea what to say to this. I'm so sorry!" He apologized and bowed his head in shame and Asuna could only groan.

_That's not what I meant! I'm pretty sure this is against a few rules! What is this now? One of Konoka's drama series?_

Said romance drama obsessed roommate was even going 'aww' in disappointment at this new development too, earning herself odd looks from Ukyo-san and Sakurazaki-san.

Honya-chan just smiled, looking both relieved and content with the answer.

"Sensei, that's alright, I can wait until you process this better. I just wanted to say it now before we had to deal with those rogues. Thank you for listening to my declaration." She bowed in return.

The twintailed girl whistled, "Man Honya-chan, you're really freakin' cool, ya know?"

"Hehe!" The girl smiled, showing her pearly whites as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

_Wish I could just confess like that. Man, maybe I should ask her for some tips._

"If we're all done, maybe we should head out?" Sakurazaki-san said, cutting into the moment. "I think we're starting to block the way."

Looking behind them, Asuna saw that she was right. There were quite a few other groups back in the lobby that looked about ready to set off too.

"Boo, Set-chan don't kill the mood!" Konoka pouted, her hands on her hips.

"Ojou-sama, please!"

"Let's just go," Ranma-san said with a shake of her head as she grabbed her sister and dragged her along. "If we start walking, I'm sure that'll prompt the rest to get moving too."

"Onee-sama, are you going to be snippy the whole day?"

Ranma-san's noncommittal shrug was answer enough.

 _What crawled up her ass today?_ Asuna thought even as she and the rest of the group followed after the two Saotomes. _And what can I do to fix her mood?_

* * *

With all the prerequisite drama apparently out of the way, the group headed out to Nara Park as planned. The walk there was pleasant, their hotel wasn't very far away from the landmark and they'd only needed a fifteen minutes walk through some of Kyoto's streets and a short train trip to make it. With them chatting amicably all the way, the time had passed before any of them had even noticed. Well, Sakurazaki-san was being all reserved and on guard, which seemed to make Konoka a little sad but Asuna was pretty sure the banter she kept up with the Dean's granddaughter distracted her so that she wasn't too upset.

Thankfully, the Park itself and its many peacefully grazing deer seemed to relax everyone. Even the stuffy old Sakurazaki-san and the angry Ranma-san.

 _And wouldn't I love to know_ why _she's so angry._

Between the calming environs and the inquisitive deer providing a playful distraction from everyone's worries, the whole group were able to take a breather they all needed. As such they lingered there for the better part of the morning just luxuriating in the Park's tranquil peace.

All good things must come to an end though, and as the day progressed more and more tourists showed up in the Park and it steadily became packed.

"Ugh. It's gotten too crowded." Ranma-san said stating the obvious as the group regrouped from their separate wanderings around the Park. "The peace and quiet is ruined. Let's go somewhere else."

"I agree with you Ran-chan." Ukyo-san said with a nod. "Where though?"

"Any suggestions Konoka?" Asuna asked. "This is your hometown isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I don't live here for most of the year." Konoka replied with a frown, a finger pressed against her chin in thought. "Give me a minute to think about it. What do we want to do anyways?"

"Shopping," Paru said insistently. "Today's our first free day on this Trip. We've got to make the most of it and buy our souvenirs."

"You just want an excuse to go shopping." Ranma-san teased her sister.

"Doesn't make what I said any less true," the mangaka asserted. "Besides, if we get our souvenir shopping done today then we can spend the rest of the trip just having fun. Isn't that a good idea?"

"That sounds like a great idea." Honya-chan chimed in.

"I like the plan too," Negi-sensei cast his vote.

"Me too. Any objections?" Asuna asked, looking the undecided members of their group in the eye.

Ukyo-san just shrugged, while Ranma-san sighed. "I guess I wouldn't mind."

"I'll go wherever the group decides to go," Sakurazaki-san said distractedly as she continued her vigilant survey of their surroundings.

"Alright! Then I know the perfect place to go!" Konoka chirped happily. "Shijo Street! It has some of the best shopping in all of Kyoto. I'm sure we'll get great souvenirs there."

"Lead the way, Konoka." Asuna said with a smile for her roommate who happily obliged by guiding them out of Nara Park and to their next destination.

* * *

Ranma wasn't normally much of a fan for shopping, unless it was for grimoires, but even she had to admit that Shijo Street was a great place to shop. Sure it was decently crowded, but which iconic shopping area wasn't. It at least made up for it by having practically every available good under the sun for sale. There was even a secret entrance to a magical section of the street, that if Ranma was guessing correctly led down to an underground mall!

She had just been about to wander off to go explore it when something in a storefront just ahead of the entrance to the magical mall caught her attention. It was a beautiful frilly black dress with a skirt that had an asymmetrical hem that was knee length in the front but that steadily grew to ankle length at the back, a draped bow neckline, leg of mutton sleeves, and a belt tied off by a ribbon.

One look at it and Ranma just knew she _had_ to have it.

Rushing into the boutique with Ucchan and Haruna trailing behind her, she was excitedly asking the store clerk for its price when an unpleasant voice interrupted her day.

"Saotome Ranma, face me!" The annoying voice of Hibiki Ryouga reached her ears from just outside the shop.

An ugly grimace crossed her face as the petite girl turned to face the scruffy looking boy through the shop's window.

"Ugh, it's that _imbecile_."

"I know you're somewhere around here, Ranma! Come out and face me!"

"What is he, a clingy ex-boyfriend?" Ucchan asked with a quirked lip. "Wasn't you giving him explosive diarrhea last time enough of a warning to never come back?"

"I think he's worse than that," Haruna said with a sigh. "He's more like an annoying gadfly."

"One I really don't want to deal with right now." Ranma said with a sigh.

_Couldn't I get one nice thing for myself? Does the world hate me so much that when I tried, it just had to throw something insane like this at me to ruin it?_

"Then don't sweat it," Ucchan said. "I'll handle this."

"You sure?" Ranma asked with uncertainty.

"Yup," Ucchan reassured her. "I want to try out how my swordplay has improved anyways."

Frowning, Ranma hesitantly nodded.

"Hey big guy!" Ucchan shouted at the crazy boy as she stepped out of the shop. "Ranma's busy. I'll be your opponent today!"

"You?" Hibiki Ryouga scoffed. "A scrawny twig like you? You won't even be a challenge!"

"And the short girl is?" Ucchan smirked at him, making Ranma look at her with a pout. "Besides, call me a pushover after eating this! Tempura flash!"

Tossing a cloud of distracting flakes of tempura she'd pulled out of a hidden satchel in her purse at the boy, Ucchan snapped her fingers and detonated the small amounts of gunpowder she'd mixed into the cloud causing a series of small explosions that blinded and disoriented the boy.

"Argh! What did you do to me!" The boy hollered as he stumbled around in a daze. "I'll smash your head in for this!"

"Really? 'Cos you'll need to catch me first." Ucchan baited as she leapt onto the overhang of a building just down the street. "Think you can manage that?"

"Taking him somewhere else? Smart move Ucchan." Ranma commented approvingly even as the boarish boy took the bait and chased after the ninja who directed him away from the crowds with repeated tuants.

"Yeah, the tourists probably think it was a show or something." Haruna pointed out as she gestured towards the many people who had their cellphones out recording or taking pictures of the small opening act of the fight.

"Saves us the trouble of a memory wipe," Ranma said with a dismissive shrug. "Now let's go buy that dress."

"You're not worried about Ukyo-san?"

"Nah. Ucchan can handle the pig. She's a lot stronger than she looks."

"If you say so, Onee-sama." Haruna conceded as she followed after her back towards the confused store clerk.

* * *

While Ranma was busy buying her dream dress, Ukyo had led Hibiki Ryouga over to a park a couple blocks away from the crowded shopping street.

 _Perfect! This open space will be a great place for our duel._ The ninja swordswoman thought as she leapt down from a rooftop to land in the middle of the small patch of greenery to await her opponent.

"Ha! No longer running away?" The boy said, smirking as he ran into the park with all the grace of a wild boar and took a fighting stance.

"Nope~! Just wanted to bait you away from the crowd. No need to humiliate you too publicly."

"Wha-?! Why you!" He snarled and charged at her, fists flying at her at a decent speed.

 _Compared to Shishou however…_ Ukyo dodged them as if they were in slow motion, _it's not all that much._

Even as she evaded the boy's rapid punches, she reached for her watch or more specifically the storage runes etched into its case.

 _I'm so glad I had the foresight to buy this off the Mahora underground magical market. It makes transporting my weapons so much easier._ Ukyo thought even as she drew out her katana and quickly went on the offensive.

" _Sōryūsen_ (Twin Dragon Flash)!" Ukyo cried out the name of her technique.

Lashing out with a lightning fast sword draw, she forced the boy back but that was not the end of her attack. Wielding her now empty sword sheath as a blunt weapon, she delivered a pulverizing blow to Hibiki's side that sent him flying away from her.

"Yikes!" The boy yelped as he got back to his feet, rubbing his abused side. "Hey, watch it! You could've taken my head off, you nutcase!"

_Huh, he's pretty durable if he shrugged off such a powerful blow._

Her Shishou had said talking in the midst of a battle was breath wasted, so Ukyo didn't bother replying and instead went onto the offensive once more.

" _Ryūtsuisen_ (Dragon Hammer Flash)!" Ukyo announced her technique as she jumped over her foe and fell towards him, intent on using the momentum of her fall to strengthen a two-handed sword swing aimed at his shoulder.

The boy blocked the blow though, with an umbrella of all things. The power of her technique easily cut through the unusual weapon even though it was heavily infused with ki. The block did slow her fall though and it gave Hibiki the split second he needed to move his shoulder out of the way.

Thus as she landed, she found herself uncomfortably close to her opponent. An opening that he exploited by throwing a trio of his bandanas at her. Sensing the ki infused into them, she hastily used her _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) to blur out of the way. It was the wise thing to do as she saw the pieces of fabric embed themselves into the ground where she'd been standing like deadly shuriken.

"Grr, you're quick are ya? Well, eat this! _Tetsu Nuno_ (Iron Cloth)!" He proclaimed as a rain of dozens more ki enhanced bandanas came flying at her like a flurry of shuriken.

 _Where the heck is he keeping all of them?!_ Ukyo looked on in amazement as she sheathed her sword and launched a brace of her own Spatula Shuriken to counter his attack.

"I've got you now! _Shundō_ (Instant Movement)!" The boy shouted triumphantly as he blurred in front of Ukyo.

 _Fast!_ Ukyo thought even as she lashed out with a _Hiryūsen_.

Rotating her body rapidly and then abruptly stopping, she sent her sheathed blade flying at Hibiki. The force shooting the sword's grip out of the sheath like an arrow, striking him right in the sternum and sending him stumbling back.

But not before he managed to send one of his ki enhanced bandanas lashing out at Ukyo's head. Her rotation and a quick duck of her head threw off his aim, but it nevertheless scored a shallow cut along her cheek.

"Huh, you're pretty good." The bandanna wearing boy remarked, huffing and puffing but sporting a small smirk on his lips.

"I could say the same. And here I thought you were just a loudmouth," Ukyo said, teasing him while she too tried to steady her breathing.

Both of them were out of breath and were cautiously circling each other as they tried to catch a second wind.

"Well, now you know how wrong you are." Hibiki said as his breathing evened out. "So why are you protecting Saotome Ranma anyways?"

"She's my best friend," Ukyo informed him, having also regained her breath. "What about you? Why do you want to fight her so badly?"

"To prove I'm not someone to be dismissed! I don't care if she's a genius martial artist, I can beat her and show being a genius doesn't mean squat! I won't let her treat me like dirt again like when she didn't show up to our arranged duel, like I wasn't even worth her time."

"Ran-chan told me about that," Ukyo told him, looking at him dryly and with a touch of pity. "And you've got it all wrong. She did show up for that duel. She even waited for you to show up for _three days_! You never did."

Hibiki blinked in confusion at that for a long moment before he let out a sheepish groan. "That explains why it was snowing when I showed up at the lot. Ugh! This stupid curse of mine!"

"Curse?" Ukyo asked curiously.

"I keep getting lost and end up in all kinds of weird places. Like if I wanted to go some place, say that lot I was supposed to fight Ranma and I take a turn that's supposed to take me there? Well, the curse will instead send me to someplace else like say somewhere in Africa or worse."

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah," Hibiki said as he visibly deflated. All the anger and confidence that characterized him practically flowing out of him. "And now it's made me look like an idiot. Again!"

"Um, there there?" She said, unsure if she should pat him on the back to make him feel better. It was a pretty bad draw for the guy after all.

"It's fine. I'm used to it. Just to confirm though, Ranma didn't stand me up?"

"Nope," Ukyo confirmed.

Hibiki let out a deep sigh. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I'm making a mistake tomorrow. Dammit! Where in the world am I supposed to find someone as good a fighter as she is?"

"Ahem," Ukyo coughed, catching his attention. "Didn't I just fight you to a draw?"

"Huh? What?" He blinked in confusion. "A-Are you serious? I mean, well, yes we did, but uh… that is…"

"What are you thinking?" Ukyo asked snappishly, glaring at him.

"N-Nothing! I just, uh-"

"Look, you've got dealt a bad hand in life okay? And I'm offering to help you make it just a little better by being your sparring partner once in a while. No more than that. You game?"

"I dunno…"

"It's not like you'll get many offers like this." Ukyo pointed out logically.

"...You raise a good point." Ryouga stroked his chin, his face red. "I-I'll be seeing you then! I have training to do if I want to lay you flat. N-Not in that kind of way of course! I would never!"

Ukyo felt her own face burn at what he was saying, "J-Just get out of here, you vagabond! I'll mop the floor with you next time, hmph!"

"Y-Yeah! I'm going! But, um, before I go mind helping me tell Ranma something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Tell her I'm sorry for always bugging her and, um, that she's lucky to have such a devoted and powerful friend like you."

Ukyo blushed at the compliment

"One more thing?"

"Okay, but only _one_ more."

"Can you drop me off at a restaurant? I haven't eaten in three days." Ryouga confessed, looking down shamefully as his stomach rumbled audibly.

"Just follow me." Ukyo sighed, the wind taken from her sails.

"Thanks," Hibiki said with a blush as he followed after the swordswoman.

* * *

Ranma had just finished handing over the money for her new dress and was idly browsing the rest of the shop as it got packed up. Thankfully, they'd had one in her size or she'd had to wait up to _two weeks_ to get it done!

At least she didn't have to browse the children's section this time. Haruna was a devil of a tease whenever they walked past it. It wasn't her fault she was cursed to have a child's body for the rest of her life! If anyone was to blame, it was her blasted sperm donor.

She was just admiring a pillbox hat that would go well with her new dress and mentally comparing it to the one she'd brought along in her luggage - Just in case she got the chance to dress up! - when she heard an unfamiliar voice suddenly call out to her in a shocked voice.

"Ranma! By the kami! Is that you, my Ranma!?" The distraught voice said.

Spinning to see its source, Ranma found herself face to face with a woman she only recognised from photographs: Saotome Nodoka, her biological mother.

The woman was dressed in a kimono and had her hair up in a traditional style just like she was in all the photos of her Ranma had seen, perhaps to downplay or outright hide - if possible - the clear foreign blood as indicated by her hair. Beyond this difference in dress and hairstyle created by Ranma wearing her school uniform and wearing her hair down, the similarities between mother and daughter was uncanny. They had practically the same facial structure and general body shape, barring the differences owing to their respective ages.

"S-Saotome Nodoka-san?" Ranma stuttered out in shock.

Could anyone blame her? Who would've thought they'd just randomly run into their long estranged biological mother whilst out shopping?

"It is you! You're my daughter Ranma aren't you?" The older redhead said with a sob.

"Y-Yes, I think so." Ranma offered tentatively, defaulting to honesty in the face of the unexpected reunion.

"Oh! This meeting must've been ordained by the kami. It's just too fortuitous!" Saotome Nodoka said with tears running down her cheeks. "I've been looking for you for years and I find you when I'm not looking? It must be the gods finally rewarding me after all these years."

"You were looking for me?" Ranma asked in confusion.

_Didn't the Kanto Magic Association contact her when they ruled her out as a viable guardian? I don't know the exact circumstances but wouldn't they have at least told her where I was and that I was fine?_

"Yes, I was. But that's over with now! Why don't you come with me? We can have some tea and we can reconnect and-"

"Actually, Saotome-san," Haruna said cutting into the conversation having walked over at some point. "We can't. We're on a school trip right now and we'll need to report back shortly."

"Oh, I see." The older redhead said, sounding outright despondent.

"But I'm free tomorrow!" Ranma offered quickly, even as Haruna shot her a warning look. "Why don't you give me your number and we can work out a timing for tomorrow."

Her biological mother didn't look happy, but she nevertheless nodded. "If that's the best we can manage-"

"It is," Haruna insisted.

They exchanged numbers and under a withering glare from Haruna, the older woman left.

"I don't think meeting her is a good idea, Onee-sama." Haruna told her once they were alone.

"I'm not sure it is either, but I want to give it a try. Maybe she's worth knowing. Who knows maybe my sperm donor kidnapped me from her when I was a baby or something?"

"Did you forget all the research Touchan and Mama did on her? Remember that crazy obsession she has with some blood contract about you needing to become a "man amongst men"?"

"I know, I know," Ranma said with a sigh. "But it can't hurt to hear what the woman has to say, right?"

"I'm calling Touchan and Mama," Haruna declared.

Ranma shrug. "Good idea. They deserve to know that I'm meeting my biological mother."

"That's not what I or they'll be worried about."

"I know but they should know regardless." Ranma told her foster sister. "But enough heavy stuff. Let's go pick up my dress. They should have finished packing it up by now."

Haruna didn't look happy but she nevertheless let the matter drop. Ranma was grateful for that. She was second guessing her decision enough already, she didn't need Haruna poking and prodding at her rash choice to meet with her biological mother all of a sudden too.

_I guess I'll just have to wait and see if I'm making a mistake tomorrow I guess._

* * *

Asakura Kazumi had hit the motherlode. The journalist of class 3-A, one that hungered for the scoop of all scoops to make her mark in the journalism industry and the world, had found her golden goose. She'd just been hanging around the Shijo Street area taking candids when she'd unexpectedly hit the jackpot!

Negi-sensei was some kind of superhuman, able to halt eighteen wheelers with a single gesture and savior of kittens across the land.

And she had the photographs to prove it!

"Oh man, this is big." Kazumi muttered as she held her camera like a lifeline. Deals could be made, outlets around the world would offer her jobs, and all at the tender age of thirteen! She was going to be famous for this super scoop!

"Psh, Nee-san!"

"Gah!" She gasped and fumbled her camera in the air before catching it, holding it tightly.

Looking around, she couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Down here, toots."

She looked and saw an ermine. One that was smoking a chocolate cigarette? What?

"Saw you snooping around my Aniki. You look like a smart girl. How'd you like to make a few… deals?"

His smile made him look like a little devil, but to Kazumi, she wasn't afraid to shake hands with the devil. Not if it meant getting a scoop.

"Well Ermine-san, why don't we step into my office and talk. I presume this is about the wonderboy, Negi-sensei? You're his talking pet?"

"Assistant, but yeah." He ran up her body and sat on her shoulder. "You and me? I think we're going to be a dream team. Hope you like taking notes because, hehe, do I got news for you."

"Lay 'em on me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> There it goes, another one down. Man this arc just feels so much fun. Nodoka's growth as a fledgling mage is shining through in her growing confidence. So we pushed her, and her new spine, to just tell the poor lad her cute feelings! And then Negi's brain turned off. Poor Negi.
> 
> Nameless: Indeed. Nodoka has grown a lot. She did in canon too once she was given something to be confident about, so it stands to reason the same is true here.
> 
> The fight with Ukyo and Ryouga was fun and just informing him of the misunderstanding was funny and typical of Ranma ½'s brand of comedy, even the weirdest things can set off a fight. Or a ship in this case if anyone got the hint in the previous chapter.
> 
> Nameless: Yup. Though some might wonder how Ryouga is still a pig if he doesn't have a Jusenkyo curse (he doesn't). Well… that's spoilers.
> 
> And, yes, the 'great' mother of Ranma is here: Nodoka. Honestly this woman is just, ugh. Cringe face. Even if it was satire, this woman unnerves me.
> 
> Nameless: Reminder to our readers, we're playing things a lot straighter than either canon Ranma or Negima! So it's not character bashing when we expose just how terrible some of these characters are if taken seriously. Though we did have to add on some OG elements to some of them to make this critique work and/or fit into our story. Hopefully, it turns out well.
> 
> And yes, Chamo just snipped the Kazumi issue, he has some savvy so I thought to just have him monitor the area to catch anyone who might spot our boy hero using magic since Negi obviously didn't. The dope.
> 
> Nameless: And that sets up some of the events in the next chapter quite nicely. Same with the scene with Saotome Nodoka. Look forward to the payoff for both in the next chapter or two.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	16. Night of Mayhem

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Sixteen: Night of Mayhem**

**Beta:**

* * *

The meeting with her biological mother had left Ranma feeling bubbly. While she had banished or suppressed any and all thoughts of her sperm donor out of her mind, she barely had any memory of her birth mother. So her excitement was easy to understand. It was a chance at long last to get to know the woman who birthed her. Yes, there were all those warnings about her being crazy but she'd seemed fine earlier. Maybe they were all just exaggerations? At least that was the hope she was clinging to.

Besides the matter of her mother the lack of action, save for Ryouga showing up, was also getting to her. It left the redhead cautious as to what the renegades could be plotting. They weren't the only ones up to no good though.

"What are you two doing?" Ranma said, her arms crossed and her left foot tapping against the floor in her agitation as she glared at Negi's perverted little familiar and Asakura Kazumi, who had just been clued in to magic, as they huddled together in the small store room they'd commandeered.

Startled the two spun around to face the irate mage.

"How did you find us?" Chamo asked, looking startled.

"You do remember that I have a spell that gives me the senses of a hunter, right?" Ranma asked with a roll of her eyes.

"But how did you know to look for us?"

"You disappearing and taking that list of magically capable 3-A students you wheedled out of me in exchange for promising not to try and force me or Haruna into anymore Pactios." Ranma said in a deadpan.

"I guess that _would_ look suspicious." Chamo allowed with a wince.

"Yes, it would. Now answer my question. _What are you doing?_ "

"We organizing a kissing game!" Asakura said, sounding excited of all things, a broad grin on her face. "I've approached every one of the groups in the class, except yours for obvious reasons, and had them volunteer two members. The objective will be to have at least one member kiss an unaware Negi-"

"Stop," Ranma said as she glared at her fellow redhead. "You know that just sounds, ugh! There's no other way I can phrase it, it's disgusting."

"W-What!? Why?" Asakura sputtered in incomprehension.

"All of you always rag on Negi about asking consent from the girls he forms Pactios with and yet here you are trying to trick him into Pactios without his consent. You can't see what's wrong with that?"

"He's a boy," Asakura said with a shrug. "He'll love getting kissed by pretty girls,"

Ranma snorted, before replying in the most sarcastic tone she could manage. "By your logic, a boy's consent doesn't matter but a girl's does?"

"Don't think too much about it," Chamo told her, shifting uncomfortably.

At least he saw the flaw in their thinking. Unfortunately, Asakura just looked at Ranma blankly.

"But he's a boy." The wannabe journalist repeated as if it explained everything.

The mage could have spent the next hour or so tearing down her classmate's misandrist worldview but she frankly had better things to do. So instead she just growled at the other girl's hypocrisy, and turned to address her furry accomplice.

"This is nothing more than an attempt to make more money off Negi by getting him more Pactios, isn't it?"

"I won't deny I'll make good money for this," Chamo had the grace to admit. "But there's a reason I took the list with me. We're hoping Aniki will make a Pactio with a _particular type_ of student."

"Who?"

"Someone with magical potential, duh. It's why I took the list."

"You're hoping the new Pactio will strengthen our team?"

"It will!" Chamo insisted.

"Or it could just be trash. You never know with Pactios." Ranma pointed out. "But do whatever you want, I have a big day tomorrow. So I'm going to catch some sleep _now_ , since the annoying little pipsqueak has me down for one of the later patrols tonight."

"So Ranma-ane," Chamo asked as the mage turned to leave. "You won't interfere?"

"I should," Ranma said as she stopped midway out the room's door. "But I honestly don't care enough to. Besides, it might increase our combat power which is something we need right now. _But_ if you screw up… Don't expect me to sympathise with you, much less help you fix things. Got it?"

"Crystal," Chamo said with a nod.

Satisfied, Ranma left even as behind her she heard Asakura left out a breath and tell the perverted fairy how she'd never realized how scary she could be.

_So people think I'm scary when I get serious, huh? I think I like that._

* * *

Shortly after the admittedly unnerving visit from Ranma-san. Kazumi and her new favorite furry ally, Chamo-kun, remained hidden away in the janitor's storage room they'd appropriated for the occasion, as they watched with the satisfaction of a job well done as the kissing game played out over the various screens she'd set up. Thanks to her skills at hacking and Chamo-kun's ability to get to places without attracting attention, she now had access to not only the hotel's existing close circuit cameras but also a host of hidden cameras she'd set up throughout the hotel.

Altogether, they gave her a network that had coverage across the whole hotel and its immediate surroundings. Which would not only be helpful for their little game but also for watching out against those kidnappers targeting Konoe-san.

"Kazumi-ane, stop daydreaming!" Chamo-kun hissed. "The game's started."

"Right sorry!" Kazumi replied apologetically as she turned back to the screens where the two volunteers from each group had armed themselves with pillows and had set out from their rooms to search for Negi and give him a big smooch!

Taking a steadying breath, Kazumi began providing running commentary for the stream she'd set up of the whole thing that she'd posted to the class' private group on Facebook. Things were starting off slow as usual, but she made sure to hype it up.

"You're a good commentator you know that?" Chamo-kun said, while she was taking a break. He was 'smoking' one of the chocolate cigarettes he seemed to have an endless supply of. "You have the flare to make even the most mundane things interesting. Ever considered making a career out of the talent instead of journalism?"

"What can I say? I know my audience." Kazumi smirked smuggly. "Oh! We have our first encounter between teams! Looks like it's Teams One and Three facing off."

Things got hectic from there as the game really got into gear and Kazumi got lost in her commentary.

"Kazumi-ane," Chamo-kun said as he pointed to a screen showing Akashi-san right where they wanted her: with Negi-sensei dead in her sights.

There was just one problem. She was just about to be ambushed by Nagase-san who was using all her ninja skills to sneak up on the unsuspecting Akashi-san.

"Damn! Baka Blue? This isn't going to end well. Is there anything we can do?" The journalist bit the tip of her thumb in frustration as she tried to think of a solution. "Well, we could do _that_."

"So we're cheating?" Chamo-kun asked.

"Duh! Do you want your ermine dollars or not?"

"I am perfectly fine with this plan." Chamo-kun said, eyeing her with a healthy dose of respect as befitting a partner in crime.

"Then let's spoil Nagase-san's little ambush shall we?" Kazumi said as she switched on some of the hidden mics she'd set up throughout the hotel for the occasion, specifically the set in the corridors where the two girls were.

"And there's Nagase-san sneaking up on our Basketball Star!" She said into her own mic back in her lair.

Out in the hotel corridor, the tall kunoichi went ramrod for a second while Akashi-san whirled around and threw her pillow with the precise aim as befitting her status as Mahora's Basketball Star.

Surprised, Nagase-san didn't duck fully in time and the pillow grazed the top of her head.

"And Nagase-san is out~!" Kazumi declared triumphantly.

The defeated Kunoichi looked around, an angry furrow of her brow clear for all to see.

"I think that's gonna bite you later." Chamo-kun pointed out.

"Meh, results are all that matter." Kazumi shrugged.

Drawn by the commotion, Negi-sensei wandered over to where Akashi-san was.

"What's going on he-"

He never got to finish, before with a victorious smirk the school athlete grabbed the child teacher and gave him a deep kiss on the lips that left him reeling. Literally too as when she let him go, he promptly staggered into the nearest wall which he proceeded to clutch for support.

Kazumi heard Chamo-kun sigh and she turned to look at the fairy. He was clutching the new Pactio card they'd set up the whole game for but yet looked disappointed.

"What's the matter?"

"It's Aniki," Chamo-kun said pointing at Negi-sensei on the screen. "Just one little kiss and he's all woozy like that? What am I going to do with him?"

"At least, you earned big bucks tonight?"

"Think positive?" Chamo-kun said thoughtfully. "Hmm. You're right. Why should I be upset? I made a killing tonight!"

"That's the spirit!" Kazumi told him encouragingly. "Now let's see if we can get a few more kisses tonight. I'm sure you're not satisfied with just one Pactio, right?"

"You say the nicest things," Chamo-kun said with a very unerminelike greedy grin.

"What is going on here?!" A voice asked, as the door to their lair was abruptly thrown open.

Kazumi slowly turned from her hub station and stared in horror at the interloper: Nitta-sensei. Caught red handed being out of bounds after curfew and up to no good, she could only gulp and offer an awkward smile.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Nitta-sensei had all the girls involved lined up in the hotel lobby and sitting in seiza position as he lectured them on how their behavior was unbecoming and that the ruckus they caused would inconvenience the hotel staff who will have to clean up after them.

"Do you girls understand what you did was wro-"

He was mid-sentence when he and all the girls except Kazumi and Akashi-san suddenly froze for a moment, before walking back to their rooms like a bunch of zombies.

"What the hell?" Akashi-san said, watching the others walk away. "G-Guys, you alright?"

Their mesmerized classmates did not reply, just kept walking with glazed over eyes.

"It's like they're zombies," Kazumi said, much more calmly.

Don't get her wrong, she was freaked out too. But she at least had an idea on what might actually be going on.

"Z-zombies just became real!? What do we do?!"

"Yuna-san, calm down." Asuna sighed as she walked out of the nearby hallway with Chamo-kun riding on her shoulder. "This is just Chamo using his fairy magic to charm them to get them out of the way. Or would you two rather spend the night getting punished?"

"Nah, I'm good with this." Kazumi told the orangette. "Thanks for the save. But since when could Chamo-kun do this?"

"Since he's a talking ermine. Keep up, will ya?" Asuna said with an annoyed look. "Apparently, the mesmer is basic fairy magic. Something even a failure of one like him, his words, can do. I don't like that he can do this, but yeah… We have to prepare for tonight's defense."

"Magic!? Fairies!?" Akashi-san said, spazzing out. "Okay, which one of Asakura's cameras is on us? I mean, you guys are just pulling my leg, right?"

"Nope! Magic is as real as real can be!" Chamo-kun said from Asuna's shoulder, "And _you've_ got that potential too! Join today!"

"Huh?"

"We aren't the army, you pervert." Asuna flicked her finger, knocking the ermine off of her. "Yuna-san, just come listen to us. It gets weird, but not really that bad. And I repeat, we don't have time to waste, we need to get started on setting up tonight's defense."

"Defense? Defense against what?" Akashi-san asked, her curiosity clearly piqued. At least enough to puncture her confusion for the moment.

"Come with me back to my group's room and we'll explain everything."

"No, 'come with me if you want to live'?" Akashi-san asked with a pout.

"This isn't a movie!" Asuna hissed. "Be serious. Are you coming or not?"

* * *

"I brought them," Asuna announced as she opened the door to her group's room with Kazumi-san and Yuna-san in tow.

"So you _did_ manage to snag a potential mage," Ranma-san said with a glare at Chamo.

"What do you mean by that, Ranma-san?" Asuna asked with confusion. "Yuna-san is a potential mage?"

"Yes. Both her parents are mages so she's bound to have _some_ potential at magic." Turning away from Asuna, the redhead once more addressed Chamo. "I'm surprised, your plan actually worked. Akashi-san is likely to be a great help in protecting Konoka-san. Though I suppose it'll depend on her Artifact."

"I didn't know that Akashi-sensei was a mage," Negi said with an excited look. "I can't wait to speak with him when we get back to campus."

Ignoring Negi, Chamo looked ready to reply to Ranma-san's cold assessment of things. Probably by boasting about how great Yuna-san's Artifact was, but Asuna cut him off.

"Speaking of Konoka? Where is she?" Asuna asked, looking for her friend.

"She's visiting with Yue," Paru told her. "Apparently their group is playing Hanafuda and Konoka decided she wanted to join in."

"Which is why we're using now to meet up," Ranma-san added for her sister.

Sakurazaki-san spoke up next, returning to their primary topic.

"While I have no issue bolstering our ranks, I worry about Akashi-sensei's say in this manner. While he is a great magical researcher and highly skilled in defensive magic, and Akashi-san here may be quite adept herself once she learns, I feel as though we are trampling on her father's wishes."

Asuna felt uncomfortable as she realized that Sakruazaki-san was right. And she would know wouldn't she? She was Konoka's bodyguard and tasked with keeping her ignorant about magic. And Yuna-san's situation was pretty similar to Konoka's.

"Needs must," Ukyo-san said with a shrug. "We need the manpower."

"Ukyo-san is right," Honya-chan insisted. "Besides, Akashi-san can clear things up with her father after the trip can't she?"

"W-Wait a minute! My Dad is a mage!? How come I never knew any of this!" Yuna-san shouted, overcome by everything.

She was no doubt having an internal debate about whether she should talk with her father about all this.

A small part of Asuna thought Yuna was lucky. At least she had someone who could teach her, she herself was stuck figuring this Magic Cancel stuff out on her own.

"What's done is done," Ranma-san said coldly. "Akashi-san is in the know now. Move on."

"Onee-sama! Don't be mean." Paru chided her big sister before turning to the visibly confused Yuna-san. "Your father probably wasn't trying to hide things from you for bad reasons. It's not uncommon for magical parents to keep magic from their kids. There can be any number of reasons, but it's usually to spare them from the burden of magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Magic can lead to painful situations at times," Ranma-san said with a look that spoke of grim experience which sent a shiver down Asuna's spine. "If your father went through something like that… Then he might not have told you, to prevent you from suffering the same."

"Oh…" Yuna-san said, her eyes wide and much of her enthusiasm dampened.

"As much as I sympathise with Akashi-san's situation," Sakurazaki-san said with an apologetic look at Yuna-san. "We can discuss it _later_. Right now we have to finalize our plans for _tonight_."

"That's true." Paru said putting up her hand to signal she had something to say. "But someone has to explain things to Yuna-san or she won't get what's going on."

"Haruna's right," Ranma-san said before anyone could say anything. With Honya-chan and Ukyo-san both nodding along with her, Asuna knew there was no arguing with her. She wouldn't back down if she had the support of her group. She was stubborn like that. Not that Asuna _wanted_ to argue with her. She agreed with the petite redhead, this time at least.

"Uh, if I'm being a bother I can lea-"

"Don't be silly. We didn't go out of the way to organize that kissing game just to recruit you so we could you run you off." Asakura-san cut her off. "I'll explain things to her."

"No, I'll do it." Paru said firmly. "I'm more familiar with this stuff. I can explain it better."

"If that's settled," An annoyed Sakurazaki-san said with a frown. "Can we get started?"

"Of course, Setsuna-san." Negi said diplomatically.

* * *

"So how did explaining things to Akashi-san go earlier?" Ranma asked her sister as they and Ucchan did their rounds for the night. Having missed her shift earlier due to explaining things to Akashi-san, Haruna had elected to join Ranma and Ucchan's shift rather than skipping out on doing her fair share.

"Pretty good!" Haruna told her with a smile. "She was all 'I don't know what I can do but I'll do my best!'"

"If nothing else no one can fault her enthusiasm. It is one of her strong points."

"You don't think she'll be helpful, Onee-sama?" Haruna asked, curious. "Her Artifact is pretty powerful."

"Yes, but will she know _how_ to use it properly?" Ucchan asked. "That's the important thing."

Haruna shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Suddenly, the radios that Asakura-san had handed out to them for the night crackled to life as Sakurazaki-san's voice spoke urgently through the devices.

"Ojou-sama has just been kidnapped!" The magical swordswoman said. "A woman in a monkey suit just broke into our room and grabbed her!"

"A monkey suit!?" Haruna gasped. "Is she some kind of Furry Lady?"

"Haruna, focus." Ranma said as they all sprinted back towards their room, even as she simultaneously cast her suite of combat enhancement spells in preparation for the fight ahead. "Konoka-san's been kidnapped!"

"Right," Haruna said apologetically.

"I have her on my cameras!" Asakura said over the radio. "She's in the car park and headed towards the train station. She'll be out of range of my cameras soon, so catch up with her ASAP. If we lose her, who knows where she'll go!"

"The nearest exit is the lobby," Ucchan noted as she led them in changing direction.

The trio's mad dash brought them to the hotel lobby where they could see their group mates already engaging the kidnappers in the far side of car park beyond.

Sakuraki-san was having a sword fight with a brunette in a pink lolita outfit, complete with broad brimmed hat. She was trying to break away at every opportunity but her opponent wouldn't let her, cutting her off at every turn and pressing her attack.

Meanwhile Negi-sensei, Chamo, Asuna-san and Akashi-san were fighting the monkey woman.

_Haruna's right. Dressed up like that, she does seem like a furry._

"I'll go help Sakurazaki-san," Ucchan shouted as she rushed off. "You guys help Negi-sensei."

_Swordswoman joins the sword fight, mages join the mages battle sounds good._

"Nodoka," Haruna asked over the radio, as they raced towards the enemy. "Can you provide any support."

"Sorry, Haruna." The mind reader replied, sounding deeply torn. "But I don't know any of their names! I can't read their minds without them."

"Don't sweat it," Ranma told the bibliophile. "Stay in the hotel and keep Asakura-san safe. We'll handle things out here."

_We really should think of a way to get around Diarium Ejus' restriction though. Maybe there's a spell or artifact that can let her learn other people's names?_

She set aside the thought though as she saw Asuna-san and Akashi-san activate their Artifacts - Asuna-san's familiar harisaen and Akashi-san's magic gun with its resemblance to a _big_ semi-automatic pistol - at Chamo's urging and engaged the attacker's, an onmyoji by the looks of things, monkey shaped Goki.

_What's with her and monkeys?_

The monkey Shikigami had a great deal of agility which it used to excellent effect in evading a sweep of Asuna-san's anti-magic/exorcist harisen, but it didn't help quite as much in helping it evade Akashi-san's Magic Suppression Bullet. Catching one straight to the torso, it vanished with a puff of smoke as the magic that sustained it was dispelled.

"What the hell?! She can stop magic from being used? What kind of magic gun-fu is that thing!" The ermine exclaimed as he gaped in shock.

"Think you're so clever?" The monkey woman sneered as she pulled out a ream of paper charms. "Try shooting all of these down!"

Sensing danger, Negi-sensei wasn't idle and tried to intervene. " _Sagitta Magica, Aer Ca_ -"

He didn't get to finish his spell though as the onmyoji's resummoned Zenki appeared in front of him and punched him hard enough to disrupt his casting and send him flying.

At the same time, the monkey woman threw a huge number of paper charms into the air. Akashi-san ignored them and shot at the mage herself, but the woman's monkey like Goki jumped in front of her taking the shot. It popped like a balloon but it had done its job protecting its master.

Using the window she'd gained, the onmyoji activated her charms which proceeded to create a firestorm that threatened to engulf the whole area where Asuna-san and Akashi-san stood.

Asuna-san leapt into action, her harisen swinging through the air and banished the coming magical fire with ease.

"Grrh! What is with you blasted girls and stopping my charms?!" The monkey woman looked ready to pull her hair out from sheer frustration. "That's it! Killing you both! Try fighting off fire from all sides."

Tossing even more talismans into the air, and sacrificing another iteration of her Goki to take a shot from Akashi-san's gun, she had her charms circle around the two girls in erratic patterns. Akashi-san tried to snipe them, but they moved too fast and too randomly for her to get a good shot. Suddenly, the one on top of the cage of charms released a hellish blaze that Asuna-san quickly swatted away only to be blasted in the side from another charm going off.

"Yuna-san, shoot them out of the air!" Asuna-san called out as she smacked away another blaze.

"I can't get a clear shot! The fire's in the way!"

"Just shoot then!"

"She'll just use a different charm thingy! I don't have an uzi!" Yuna-san screamed as she covered her head. "Why freaking fire! Why did I agree to this again?!"

"Just try and shoot! Man, this is why I do track and not baseball!" Asuna-san screamed as she blocked another roaring flame.

"Alright, threat neutralized." The monkey woman laughed in an evil manner as she turned to look at Negi-sensei who was only just struggling to his feet from the last blow.

Pointing at the boy mage with that sadistic grin still on her face, she sent her Zenki and Goki prowling towards him clearly intent on having them beat the tar out of him.

* * *

Negi-sensei was being beat up by the monkey woman's Zenki and Goki. He was trying to fight back but every time he even began muttering a spell the Shikigami interrupted him mid casting with a particularly vicious blow. Seeing this, Setsuna once more tried to break away from her fight to aid him, but her fellow Shinmei-ryū practitioner wouldn't let her.

"Aw~! Don't go, Sempai! Tsukuyomi wants to play with you more! Tsukuyomi wants to make you bleed. Tsukuyomi wants to bleed from the cuts you give Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi wants our blood to mix together! That would be so romantic!" The insane girl said, as she cut her off and launched into a ferocious attack that Setsuna was hard pressed to hold at bay.

Even through that effort though, Setsuna still felt a shiver run down her spine at the eerie look in the girl's eyes. Something that cost her as it created an opening for the other swordswoman to send her dagger through her guard.

Thankfully, she was forced back when with a cry of " _Doryūsen_ ( Earth Dragon Flash)!" and a blast of earthen debris in their direction, Kuonji-san joined the fight.

Following this already impressive entrance up, she blurred right in front of Tsukuyomi with what Setsuna recognized as the archaic speed technique, _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) and unleashed another attack.

" _Ryūmeisen_ (Dragon Cry Flash)!"

Using her _Shinsoku_ to sheathe the sword rather than to draw it in a spectacular example of a _Shinsoku Nōtōjutsu_ (Godspeed Sheathed Blade Technique), Kuonji-san used the speed and force of the move to create a miniature sonic boom that stunned Tsukuyomi.

"Now, Sakurazaki-san. Hit her!"

Without hesitation, Setsuna infused her sword with ki.

" _Raimeiken_ (Thunderclap Sword)!" Setsuna shouted as she made a slashing motion, unleashing a lightning blade that streaked across the distance to slam into the staggering Tsukuyomi.

"Aw! Sempai's love is _so_ strong~!" Tsukiyomi cried out in… ecstasy? What was wrong with this girl! The attack had left her singed and smoking and this was her reaction!?

Setsuna might have been too disturbed by their opponent's reaction to follow up, but Kuonji-san definitely was not.

" _Ryūshōsen_ (Dragon Soar Flash)!" Her classmate said in a quiet, controlled voice of a master swordsman as blurring right in front of their opponent once more, she unleashed a rising attack targeting Tsukuyomi's jaw from below.

Amazingly, despite the speed of Kuonji-san's draw Tsukuyomi managed to move her dagger up in time to block. The power behind the strike still told though as even with the block, Tsukuyomi was blown away by the attack and her dagger shattered.

This time Setsuna needed no prompting to press the attack.

" _Tsukimi No Yozakura_ (Evening Cherry Blossoms of a Moon-viewing)!" She shouted as she used a reverse grip slash to send a wave of cherry blossoms that struck the airborne Tsukuyomi and engulfed her in a pillar.

When the pillar faded and the psycho girl fell back to earth, she was thankfully unconscious.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Setsuna turned to see if Negi-sensei and the others needed help in their fight.

What she found had her breath hitching in worry!

* * *

Even as Setsuna was finally getting some help in his fight, Negi was getting the tar beat out of him as he repeatedly tried to launch spells only for the onmyoji's Shikigami to smack him around.

He was just in line for another painful punch to the face from one of the monkeys when a gigantic, over muscled humanoid grabbed hold of the thing's arm and tossed it into the ground like it weighed nothing at all. A process it repeated over and over again.

"Aniki DX! Go Hulk on those things!" Haruna-san ordered what Negi belatedly realized must have been one of her golems.

Seeing an opening, Negi hurried to get a spell off. " _Sagitta Magica-_ "

The other monkey Shikigami moved to interrupt his spell, but Haruna-san's golem simply reached over and grabbed it before proceeding to subject it to the same treatment it was still dishing out to its compatriot.

"- _Series Lucis_!"

"Sensei, don't!" Nodoka-san and Kazumi-san tried to shout at him over the radio, but were too late as the monkey woman moved Konoka-san in front of her to use as a human shield.

Horrified, Negi swept his hands to the side barely managing to redirect his light arrows just in time and having them slam into the ground around Konoka-san and her kidnapper where they dug small trenches into the earth with their power.

"Hahaha," the monkey woman laughed tauntingly, while smacking the unconscious Konoka-san's bottom with a lewd grin. "So long as I have Ojou-sama hostage, there is nothing any of you brats can do to me! So just give up and die!"

"You talk too much," Ranma-san told the older woman coldly as she joined the fight by firing a mixed brace of her speciality magic arrows from her crossbow and took out all of the talismans that had been giving Asuna-san and Yuna-san so much trouble.

"Oh shit!" The woman cried out as she turned to face his two magic cancelling Ministras.

She was so distracted by them, she didn't even react as Ukyo-san used the chance to snatch Konoka away to safety with her _Shinsoku_. The moment Konoka was out of the way, this was followed up by Setsuna-san unleashing her fury on the kidnapper.

" _Shin Raikōken_ (True Lightning Sword)!"

With a swing of her sword, his student caused a large explosion to go off around the monkey woman that threw up an obscuring cloud of dust.

_Did we do it?_

Contrary to Negi's hopes, as the cloud cleared, it revealed the onmyoji unharmed behind a shimmering magical barrier.

"You no good kids are making me waste a lot of my valuable charms dealing with you, you know that?"

"You think we care?" Asuna-san said as she and Yuna-san batted away the woman's Goki and Zoki with contemptuous ease as they tried to attack them thanks to their Artifacts.

"Whatever!" The woman shouted, sounding irate. "You lot can keep Ojou-sama! For now!"

Asuna-san had managed to get within striking distance of the woman by this point and took a swing but the onmyoji evaded the orangette's swing with the same monkey like agility that her conjurations possessed and leapt away. One of her newly resummoned Shikigami carrying her unconcious sword yielding accomplice jumping after her.

"This isn't over!" The woman roared, even as she threw a stack of charms behind her that summoned a barrier that protected her from the capturing winds that Negi sent her way and the more offensive spells Ranma-san fired at her. "I'll be back! I promise I will!"

"And we'll be ready for you, Amagasaki Chigusa." Setsuna-san said firmly from where she was checking Konoka-san for injuries. "You won't get Ojou-sama. Not over my dead body."

* * *

After the tough fight, the 'Team' had retreated to Group Three's room to regroup. Each and every one of them were worn out, but even then they needed to go over what happened.

The first thing Sakurazaki-san did when she'd walked in was to lay Konoka-san down on one of the futons. The girl at the center of all the night's mayhem was still unconscious from whatever spell her abductor had used to knock her out when she'd been snatched. The moment Sakurazaki-san let her go, Nodoka-san was by the Dean's granddaughter's side.

Being one of the only ones with any decent skill in healing magic, even if she was just a novice mage, she began checking her over. After a few minutes, she completed her examination and sighed in relief.

"Konoka-san seems to be okay. She's just unconscious from what I can tell."

While everyone looked relieved, Ranma felt the need to speak what was on her mind.

"I think we need to tell Konoka-san what's going on."

"Absolutely not!" Sakurazaki-san said, attempting to kill the idea in the cradle. "I have standing orders that we are not to reveal magic to her."

"Oh, so I'm the exception?" Akashi-san muttered as she was putting burn cream on her arm with some help from Asakura-san. "Double standards?"

"Let me see that," Nodoka-san said with a smile as she went over to heal Akashi-san and studiously ignoring everything else.

Such as how the resident Shinmei-ryū style user had ignored Akashi-san and instead had chosen to glare at Ranma for her suggestion.

"Well I've gotta agree with Onee-sama." Haruna said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "We need to get Konoka to her home ASAP right? Explaining the situation to her would be best and then we can just _go_ there instead of being on the defensive for the _entire_ trip!"

Sakurazaki-san's face turned red in fury, "Ojou-sama should not need to know about magic for us to protect her! Eishun-sama specifically requested she not be told!"

"And that's pretty stupid." Ranma snorted, causing the other girl to looked as though she was struck. "Konoka-san is a smart girl. She would understand why she was kept in the dark, but also why things have changed. She'd realize that during a situation like this where her life is on the line, her very freedom, it's too dangerous for her _not_ to know."

The bodyguard stormed up to Ranma, standing a good few inches taller and looked down at the petite girl, her obsidian eyes boiling with anger.

"And what would you possibly know? Huh?" The swordswoman spat.

"How about the situation that just happened?" Haruna pointed out, glaring at the raven haired girl in turn. "We nearly lost that last fight. If Konoka even knowing about what is going on can help us keep her just a little more safe, how can that be bad? If we tell her and just go straight to her home, she'll have what? A hundred or so mages that are stronger than us to defend her?"

That set the Shinmei-ryū user off and she replied heatedly, " _I_ will protect Ojou-sama, no matter what that foul woman sends our way. I don't need anyone else's help. I'll prove it right now! I'll go off on patrol now."

With that statement, she turned to storm out.

Ucchan sighed, "I'll follow her, hopefully a walk will cool her head."

With that, the other swordswoman walked out to follow Sakurazaki-san.

Ranma snorted, "I think it's a lost cause with that girl."

"Mmrm," Konoka-san yawned as she sat up, rubbing one of her eyes with her palm, "Hm? Set-chan?"

As she spoke, the door was slammed shut, before it was opened once again and closed more gently as Ucchan followed behind the Shinmei-ryū swordswoman at a more measured pace.

"I-Is everything okay?" The gentle girl asked, a worried look on her face.

Ranma was about to open her mouth, feeling somewhat spiteful at the idiotic swordswoman but Negi-sensei shot her a look as he moved over to sit next to the Dean's granddaughter.

"Konoka-san," The boy swallowed, before he gained a resolved look on his face and continued. "I'm sorry, but there are some things, as your Sensei, that I have to explain to you about the current situation."

Ranma felt her respect for the child prodigy go up a notch.

_At least he's finally taking charge of this situation._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Whoo! Now that was a fun chapter. Serious, fuck you canon! We just broke your spine! Or a ligament. I'm cool for either. Personally, I always loved Yuna, so introducing her in early via the kissing game was a blast. Seriously, her guns are so OP! And of course, we also used the kissing game to make our point on the fact that the girls were asking for consent with Pactios but never did the same for Negi. We even had Chamo, admittedly reluctantly, agreeing. Sadly though Kazumi was perfectly fine just having him kissed against his consent along with all the other girls gunning for him. Why did we include this? Well, we just wanted to point out the hypocrisy of it all.
> 
> Nameless: Yup, we're all about making some social commentary if the situation calls for it. And it's timely considering how out of control things are nowadays. As for Kazumi and the girls… They're only thirteen. Plus we live in a world where men's consent isn't particularly valued, so, yeah, their reaction is understandable.
> 
> For Setsuna's little blow up at the end, you've got to remember that Eishun was pretty much the man who gave her a home and more importantly, a life. Konoka is the only thing above him in terms of people she respects, so of course she is going to follow his wishes to the point of being a machine. Sadly, her processor isn't taking Ranma's logic-fu well. Negi however, while in canon going along with Setsuna since she knew the most about the situation, saw Ranma's argument and agreed. Konoka needed to know so he is putting on his big boy pants and explaining WTF is happening.
> 
> Nameless: Indeed. He's finally stepping up to actually do his job properly. It's late, but better late than never. Don't be too harsh on him though, he's still growing.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	17. Parents Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Seventeen: Parents Day**

**Beta:**

* * *

"Alright, everyone ready to go?" Asuna-san asked, looking over the assembled group.

"Where's Haruna-san and Ukyo-san?" Negi asked, looking over the group for himself and not spotting the greenette or the kunoichi. "I know that Ranma-san went to meet with her biological mother but I didn't think they went with her."

"Ano, they left early this morning," Nodoka-san said nervously as they all got moving. "They said they were worried about Ranma-san so they were going to meet up with Haruna's parents and then follow her."

"Why would they be worried?" Negi asked, but before he could get an answer Yuna-san cut in with her own question.

"And why didn't you follow them? Isn't Haruna-san your, um, Magastra?"

"It's Magistra," Nodoka-san corrected before explaining. "And I asked Haruna about that and she said it would probably be better if I went with you guys. That I could help out more here."

"Why's that?" Konoka-san asked curiously.

"Well, I'm the only healer in our group. And then there's my Artifact." Nodoka-san said proudly, presenting her book.

"Which together makes her a badass." Kazumi-san declared with a grin.

Nodoka-san blushed at the compliment.

"I dunno why you're here though, Asakura-san." Asuna-san said with a serious look. "Not that you're not welcome or anything. But we might get into a fight and well, you're a normie."

"Maybe," the journalist said with a grin. "But there's a scoop here I'm not willing to miss out on. So the risk of a fight or not, I'm tagging along."

"Fine~!" Asuna said with a heavy sigh. "But keep your head down if there's a fight, alright? We don't want you getting hurt."

"Yes, ma'am!" Kazumi-san said with a mock salute and a broad grin.

A sad sigh caught Negi's attention and he turned to its source, startled to find it was Konoka-san.

"What's wrong?" He asked the normally cheerful girl.

"It's just- Set-chan didn't come after all. I know she stormed off last night but I was hoping she'd be here today." Konoka-san confessed. "I mean, there's no reason for her to stay away anymore right?"

Negi could commiserate somewhat. He too had hoped that Setsuna-san would've got over her issues overnight and joined them today. Sadly, it seemed that was not the case.

"I'm sure she'll be back soon." He offered comfortingly. "She just has to work things out herself first."

"I hope so," Konoka-san said with a watery smile. "But let's focus on the present for now. I need to get home. We can worry about Set-chan later, after I'm safe and I scold Tou-san for fibbing to me."

Negi felt fibbing was a light word to use to describe the situation, but he couldn't really judge.

"Negi, Konoka!" Asuna-san shouted from the front of their little pack. "What are you two lagging behind for? We need to hurry up here!"

"Sorry!" Both of them said as they hurried their steps.

 _I really need to pay more attention._ Negi scolded himself as he moved to catch up.

* * *

Even as Negi's group set off for the Kansai Magic Association, Ranma had headed out alone to meet her biological mother. This despite rather vehement objections from Haruna.

" _That's horror movie 101, never go alone!"_ Ranma remembered her foster sister all but screaming at her as she had left the hotel in the early morning. And the redhead would've normally agreed with her but… This meeting was _very_ important to her and she wasn't about to jinx something as sensitive as this meeting by bringing along an entourage. It was going to be awkward enough as is.

Such was the importance of the meeting that Ranma had even gone out of her way to dress up for it, something she only ever did on special occasions or in the privacy of her own room when she indulged her secret obsession with haute couture. Having brought none of her fancier dresses with her, she'd been forced to wear the frilly black dress that she was eyeing in the mall yesterday. It was a little wrinkled form not having been put through a dry cleaning first but it made her look cute enough that she hoped her mother would overlook that. In fact, to further the cute factor she'd fished out a pillbox hat from her luggage to complete the ojousama look.

It was a cute little number that reminded her of Evangline's style of dress.

The thought turned her cheeks rosy, "I just hope Kaa-san likes it."

 _Well, I'll find out soon enough._ The petite mage thought as she stepped into the little clearing at the heart of a small, deserted park that her mother had designated as their meeting spot.

"Hello Ranma," the woman said rather coldly from where she stood inside a small pavilion as she saw her step into the clearing.

"Good morning, Kaa-san." Ranma greeted the woman with a curtsy, intent on playing up the ojou-sama vibe she had going so as to impress the woman.

She seemed to have failed at that as all it garnered her was a frown from her mother before the woman flickered out of view in a burst of _Shundō_ (Instant Movement). She reappeared next to Ranma and immediately lashed out at the younger redhead with a sword that slipped out of a storage seal woven into the sleeve of her kimono.

The mage leapt back, shock on her face as she avoided the lethal slash. Her hat however was struck a fatal blow and was cut into ribbons.

"Wha-?! What was that for, Kaa-san!" Ranma snapped, appalled and furious at the unprovoked attack. "Why did you attack me?"

The killing intent that radiated off of the woman was palpable as she took a stance with her sword.

"That you do not know is yet another mark against you." The older woman said as she leveled her blade at Ranma threateningly. "Did you think that I would look past the stain on _my_ family's honor you are for breaking the blood contract to become a 'man amongst men'?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ranma asked as she took a wary step back.

"I suppose it would not be fair to send anyone to the afterlife without them knowing the reason for their deaths, so I will explain." The madwoman said, looking completely serious. "You see both _my_ families, mine and your father's, _needed_ an heir, a 'man amongst men'."

"I… I'm a girl! And I disowned him, I shouldn't have to deal with that bastard!" Ranma snapped. "If you guys couldn't handle it, then you should have just had another kid!"

"Oh, we tried, truly. Sadly I couldn't have more children after you." Nodoka spat, "So your father decided that he would do everything, and I mean everything, to turn the useless child we received into exactly what we needed. No matter what."

"That sounds more your issue then mine." The middle schooler snapped as her eyes grew moist.

_Of course she wouldn't be any different. Why would she?_

"I suppose it is," the older redhead allowed. "But that is precisely why now that your father has failed, it is time for me to step in and erase this dishonor to our family name by killing its source."

"Maybe you should just commit Seppuku since you're the _real_ useless one."

"Oh, I will. But only _after_ I deal with you." The insane bitch said running her hand down her sword in a distrubingly erotic way, complete with an aroused look on her face. "That will be the only way for the curse on my family line to end and it _must_ be ended! Just because my ancestors copied some techniques centuries ago doesn't mean it should be punished by the loss of its name every generation!"

With that last howled lament, the swordswoman lashed out with a wild swing seemingly more out of pure emotion than any forethought. Regardless of its intent, it cemented in Ranma's mind that a fight was inevitable so even as she jumped back from the slash, she cast her standard suite of enhancement spells on herself and turned the hop into a flight away from her opponent to create distance.

Seeing her floating in the air must have triggered something in the crazy woman as her face turned into a rictus of hate and with a slash and a shout of " _Kaze no Kizu_ (Wind Scar)" she sent a powerful energy wave screaming at her, tearing up the ground all the way.

Shooting up into the sky, Ranma summoned her crossbow and lined up a shot.

" _Sagitta Telam_ (Web Arrow)!" The mage cast, hoping to restrain her biological mother so they could talk this out. Even now, she held onto a glimmer of hope that this was just one big misunderstanding.

With a hissed cry of " _Guren no Oodachi_ (Great Blade of Crimson)", the magical swordswoman ran her hand over her blade and channeling her ki, coated her sword in flames which she proceeded to send at Ranma's incoming magical arrows in a fiery wave that burnt the webbing to ash.

"Please! We can talk this out!" Ranma begged as she kept herself at a relatively safe distance.

"There is no longer any room for talk." The older woman snarled. "You have failed to live up to being a 'man amongst men' and must now pay the price! _Mizunaru Hebi_ (Water-formed Snake)!"

At her invocation, four spheres of water coalesced around the swordswoman's blade that she had raised and pointed directly ahead of her. She suddenly thrust forward and these orbs responded by slamming together into a single larger sphere that her blade pierced with unnatural ease. From this mass of water, a large snake made out of water emerged that coiled up into the sky directly at Ranma.

 _She's just like that bastard this whole time? Why!? Why couldn't they have been good people? Why!? Why!? Why!?_ Ranma raged in her mind as an ugly sneer crossed her face, even as she countered the serpentine water construct with a _Cete Spiritus_ (Whale Breath) that blasted the thing apart.

 _Think! Come on, what else do you have to slow this lunatic down?!_ Ranma thought with no small measure of panic as she mentally sorted through all the spells she knew. Until at last coming to a particular spell. One that she had recently learned from the Book of Origins.

Anger fueled the mage as she aimed her crossbow at the twisted wench that gave birth to her.

" _Peredo_ (Corrode)," Ranma hissed targeting her attacker's sword.

Even if she'd finally decided it was time to properly fight back, she wasn't about to subject her opponent to such a deadly spell. Despite everything, the woman was still her mother and she didn't want her dead.

The spell lived up to its name and began eating away at the woman's sword but the sheer magical power it contained meant it would take a while before it did the job. Until then, Ranma just had to hold out.

_Surely, she'll be more reasonable or at least more manageable if she's disarmed._

"Worthless! Has that been what all your slacking has come to? What else? Is there nothing else you can muster other than to be a stain on my family!" The lunatic shouted as she teleported into the air above Ranma causing the mage to gasp in shock that the woman could use _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement).

_That's pretty advanced! How powerful is she?_

This surprise didn't last as with an impressively fast quick draw and a murmured " _Sōryūha_ (Blue Dragon Blast)", the older redhead unleashed a bolt of lightning at Ranma

Acting purely on instinct, Ranma managed to jink out of the way of the first bolt but the swordswoman just teleported to another position and unleashed another. And another and another, until Ranma found herself dodging through a deadly cage of electricity.

Of course, she eventually took a hit. Thankfully it was only a glancing blow to her left leg and her _Armis Testa_ (Shell Armor) absorbed the hit, but the power of the bolt still shattered the defensive spell and left Ranma spiraling to the ground in a barely controlled crash landing.

Instead of capitalizing on this though, the madwoman seemed content to use it as an opportunity to taunt her.

"You call that an evasion?" The psycho said with a scoff.

"You try dodging lightning then judge." Ranma hissed in anger as she staggered to her feet. She'd done her best to make the landing as pleasant as possible, but she'd still ended with a whole host of bruises and what felt like a sprained ankle.

"I have," The older woman said. "And I've managed. Something you seem unable to. Further proof you're a failure that deserves nothing more than death."

"You're insane."

"Empty words," the magic swordswoman said dismissively as she touched the end of her scabbard to the ground in front of her. " _Hasaiten_ (Crushing Point)!"

In response to her words, a small-scale very localized earthquake occurred that caused the ground in front of her to tear itself apart in a straight line towards Ranma

"Itami!" Ranma shouted, invoking her trump card. In her condition, nothing else would get her out of the way of the attack quickly enough or shield against it effectively.

In a blink of her eye, a shadowy panther shot out of her own silhouette and grabbed her by the collar of her dress as it leapt out of the way of the collapsing earth moments before the ground she'd been standing on became the heart of a large sinkhole. At the same time, an equally shadowy male figure leapt from the panther's body and over the destruction caused by the madwoman's attack in a single flying leap.

"Pathetic," the lunatic sneered as she spun, ducking under Itami's kick and cutting its humanoid projection in half in the same motion with her ki infused blade. "Splitting off your martial arts skill into this, this projection? How much more of a failure can you be!?"

"Can a failure do this? _Erugo Radior_ (Corrosion Ray)!"

At her command, a dark violet, almost black beam of entropic energy shot from Ranma's crossbow at the maniac. The woman might have birthed her and that had led the mage to restrain herself earlier, but by this point she was completely past the point of holding back.

The beam travelled insanely fast, disintegrating everything it passed into dust just from its wake and reducing anything it hit into worse. Her most powerful spell had one major weakness though and much to Ranma's chagrin, the head case saw through it easily enough and in a quick _Shundō_ teleported out of its path. Unable to turn the beam mid flight, Ranma could only watch as her spell missed by a mile and ate through several trees and caused them to wither in seconds.

She would have groaned in frustration if her opponent hadn't teleported directly in front of her and took up all her attention. Itami reacted instantly by rushing the woman, even deploying one of its sub-projections to aid it.

The woman jumped back however and in another quick draw sent a blast of lightning that bought her some space.

Itami was having none of it however and opening its maw, it let out a roar filled with all the feelings that made up its being - the pain, trauma and humiliation that Ranma felt from Genma's treatment - and which was accompanied by a pitch black beam of pure psychic energy that lanced unerringly towards the current source of its creator's pain.

" _Bakuryūha_ (Backlash Wave)!" The aforementioned deranged woman said as she swung her sword at the incoming attack, looking mildly panicked for the first time this battle.

Her swing unleashed an energy wave that much to Ranma's shock swept up Itami's attack into itself before barreling straight at her.

As caught off guard as she was, Itami failed to dodge and was annihilated by the attack, swallowed up by the howling energy wave. Seeing this, Ranma hastily tried to fly out the path of the attack but her belated effort was far too little far too late and it hit her with the force of a freight train.

The pain was excruciating, it felt like every one of Ranma's nerves were screaming in unison as she was picked up by the tide of energy and taken for a ride. She distantly felt herself slamming through a number of rather solid feeling objects but she was blinded by the brilliance of the wave and honestly in too much pain by that point to tell if that was the case or not.

When the light from the attack finally faded and Ranma could see clearly again, she found herself laying against a pile of rubble that might have once been one of the park's rest stops.

Her body was aching all over and as she tried to get back to her feet, she found to her dismay that her muscles refused to comply. All she managed was a pained groan in response to the burning agony coursing through her battered body.

 _T-That would have killed me!_ _If not for my_ Armis Testa _reforming just in the nick of time and taking the brunt of the damage… I'd be a bloody smear right now!_

"So you aren't quite dead yet?" The unhinged swordswoman said as she stalked over, her blade bared. "Well, I suppose you aren't a _total_ weakling after all. You'll still need to die though. So I guess I'll have to finish this."

With that the crazy raised her sword to make the killing blow with the practically paralyzed Ranma unable to do anything about it.

Seeing the blade descending upon her, Ranma could only close her eyes as one frantic thought raced through her mind. _I don't want to die._

* * *

As Ranma fought her biological mother, Negi and gang were climbing the long stairs up to the Kansai Magic Association Headquarters.

They were about halfway up the steps, everyone panting at the exertion of even getting so far, when three figures suddenly appeared ahead of them.

"Aniki! It's them!" Chamo cried out in alarm and Negi looked up to see the two girls who had attacked the hotel last night - Chigusa and Tsukuyomi - in addition to a boy with large-spiked black hair that fell in front of his face and down the sides of his cheeks, mud-brown eyes, a pair of furry-triangle wolf-ears perched on the top of his head and a black fluffed tail with a white tip that jutted from the base of his spine.

"Adeat!" Negi heard the various Ministras in his party incant as they summoned their Artifacts even as he readied his own staff.

At the same time, he was dismayed to feel a subtle shift in the air around them as magic permeated it. As it did, much to everyone's dismay Kazumi-san seemed to just disappear.

"Everyone!" Nodoka-san shouted urgently as she read from her Artifact. "Asakura-san is fine! The Chigusa woman has just trapped us in a sealed space. One that targets only magicals. So don't worry and just focus on the fight."

"Now now now~! Can't have ya doing that, darling." The monkey woman chided, wagging her finger as her monkey shikigami hung on her shoulders. "It wouldn't be fun now if ya spoil all my surprises with that mind reading trick of yours. Otherwise, we couldn't have a fair fight."

With that ominous statement she waved a fan of talismans in Nodoka-san's direction. Both Asuna-san and Yuna-san tried to intercept the attack, but there were too many of the paper charms and at least a dozen of them went off. The bibliophile herself dodged a couple of the wind blasts they unleashed, but despite her unexpectedly impressive athletic showing she couldn't evade them all and she was soon sent flying into a tree.

"Chamo!" Negi shouted, even as his familiar slipped from his shoulders to go tend to his unconscious student.

The fairy might not have much in the way of magic. But he had enough, Negi hoped, that he could make sure Nodoka-san was alright.

"Fair fight? Now you want one? You're a lousy coward, you know that you no good hag!?" Asuna-san snapped with a scowl.

"Old hag?!" Chigusa snarled, veins visible on her forehead. "I'm only in my twenties!"

"Please, with all those lines on your face? What magic are you using, you hag." Asuna-san taunted with utmost expertise, but Negi feared she might be going too far with how unstable the charm user was looking to be.

"How dare you!? I'll gut you! No, I'll impale then gut you! That's it!" The onmyoji said with a vicious smirk before the shifting from her accomplices, one nervous and the other aroused(?), caught her attention. "What are you two idiots waiting for! Go get them already!"

"Got it boss lady," the wolf boy said as he and the swordswoman from last night leapt towards them.

* * *

As a fight broke out, Konoka found herself running towards Nodoka-chan to try and do something to help her. She supposedly had incredible magical potential, right? Surely, she'd manage _something_!

However, she was only halfway there when a girl a few years younger than her with long brunette hair and dressed in a lolita dress jumped in front of her brandishing a drawn sword and dagger.

"W-What do you want?"

The girl just smirked maliciously and charged towards her with her sword poised to thrust right through her. Seconds before she would have been impaled on the blade however, a familiar figure leapt down from the trees and parried the blade with her own.

"Set-chan!" Konoka cried out in joy as her childhood friend caught the other swordwoman's blade in a lock and they struggled against each other.

"I'm sorry, Ojou-sama. I was keeping an eye from the shadows just in case something like this happened. I would never abandon you!" Set-chan declared as she pushed her blade forward, making the other swordswoman slide back an inch.

"Oh! Sempai! I just knew it! If I attacked Ojou-sama you would show up like a knight in shining armor! So dashing, so beautiful!" The lolita girl said with a perverted giggle as she continued to struggle with Set-chan in their blade lock. "I can't wait to tarnish all that with your blood by cutting you up!"

Setsuna's only response was to narrow her eyes and glare at the unhinged girl as in a burst of strength she finally pushed the shorter girl back. Using the opening, she tightened her grip on her sword's hilt as she launched her attack. "Zanganken (Stone-Cutting Sword)!"

Much to her visible consternation, the insane swordswoman merely countered her attack by using her own glowing blade to deflect it to the side where it cut a deep groove into the stone steps.

"And now Sempai is mad! I love it when she's mad!" The psychopath raved. "Hurt me Sempai! Cut me up Sempai!"

"Set-chan, do you, um, know her?" Konoka asked warily even as the two swordswomen darted around and stabbed at each other in a deadly dance.

"No, Ojou-sama." Setsuna insisted. "She's just insane."

"If you're sure." Konoka said with a pout.

_Is Set-chan lying? Is she into S &M stuff and this girl is an ex-girlfriend? Should I research that kinda thing? I mean if Set-chan likes it…_

Unaware of the rather strange direction her beloved Ojou-sama's thoughts had taken, a direction that would have rightfully mortified her if she'd known, Setsuna fought as hard as she could to keep her safe from her disturbed kohai.

* * *

Even as Setsuna-san and her fellow Shinmei-ryū user dueled to keep Konoka-san safe, Yuna, Asuna-san and Negi-sensei found themselves facing their own problems.

"Is that all you can do, Western Mage?" The strange wolf boy taunted as he punched Negi-sensei mid-spell for the fourth time. "Are you really this useless?"

Yuna and Asuna-san as his Ministras had both tried to jump in and help him, but were immediately intercepted by that Chigusa woman's shikigami.

"Yuna! Deal with these things! I need to go help Negi!"

"Got it!" Yuna declared confidently as she dispelled a chimp-like shikigami leaping towards her.

"Yeah, I think not. I don't fight girls." The wolf boy said rather condescendingly as Asuna-san dispelled a large monkey shikigami with her harisen and got close to where the brat was still punching Negi-sensei every time the boy mage tried to cast a spell. "Inugami (Dog Spirits), deal with her."

At his command, a pack of partially glowing dogs suddenly appeared out of nowhere and charged at Asuna-san.

"What the heck-?! Hey! Get off me you mutts!" Asuna-san cried out in alarm, but those soon turned to shrieks of dismay. "No! Don't lick me, ew! Let go of my skirt, ugh dispel! Dispel! Dispel!"

Despite her best efforts though, there were too many of the boy's dog summons and though she dispelled them in droves with each swing of her harisen Asuna-san was soon literally dog piled and buried under a small mountain of canines.

Yuna would have moved to help her, but she was too busy dealing with the self-proclaimed twenty-something year old hag alone. Case in point, she had just shot down an attempt by the onmyoji to send her shikigami after Konoka-san with her sealing bullets.

"Oh, I forgot you could do that." The monkey lady said with a malicious smirk. "But if I recall correctly, you're pretty weak against standard talismans aren't you?"

"I'll show you we-!"

Before Yuna could finish her sentence Chigusa unleashed a wind talisman that drove a bullet of spiraling wind straight into her gut. It had traveled through the distance between them so fast that she barely noticed it, much less had the awareness to dodge it.

The blow had her collapsing to her knees and coughing up blood, but the simian obsessed magician wasn't done yet. Activating another charm, she sent a wind blast at Yuna that sent her flying down the steps where she crashed into the hard stone and rolled down the hill.

Crossing the barrier of the sealed space, she rolled back down from the top and was only stopped by Chigusa stepping down on her battered body hard.

"That _little girl_ is for trying to act tough when you're nothing more than a neophyte trying to go up against a master." Chigusa taunted as she stomped down on Yuna's body, causing her to scream. "Did you think just because you had a powerful Artifact that it made _you_ powerful? Fool!"

Even through her pain and the wavering vision that accompanied it, Yuna could see the others attempt to break away from their fights to offer assistance, but they couldn't manage to disengage. Their opposition just wouldn't let them. She'd have to save herself.

"S-Shut up!" Yuna managed as she fired a shot directly into the onmyoji's face that sent her stumbling back as she screamed from the blow.

As the deranged monkey lover regained her bearings, Yuna herself took the time to painfully struggle back to her feet. Gritting her teeth, she tried her best to work through the pain. _Come on, it's just like being on the court. Don't quit!_

Managing to get to one knee, the magical gunslinger fired off a shot even as she hissed out a taunt. "You talk too much."

The shot was certainly on target, there was no doubt of that. But she wasn't the only one who'd recovered. The magic bullet was still midway to its target when it was absorbed by a hastily tossed out talisman, both negating each other as they clashed.

With a growl of pure rage, the onmyoji flicked her hands tossing dozens of her talismans at Yuna in the process.

Unlike before though, Yuna was ready this time. She might be a mess right now, but she'd be damned if she'd let this, this bitch get one over her again. With that thought in mind, she began firing her gun as quickly as she could.

* * *

For his part, Negi had tried to run around the wolf boy - who had incidentally introduced himself rather proudly as Inugami Kotarou-san before starting to whale on him - but only managed to receive yet another punch to the face for his troubles. One that sent him staggering in the direction of Konoka-san. Who he noticed as he swayed to regain his balance was looking around at their friends. Asuna-san and Setsuna-san were holding their own in their fights, but he and Yuna-san were getting the tar beaten out of them, and worse Nodoka-san was hurt and unconscious. It was thus no surprise to him that the kind hearted girl was looking horrified.

What did surprise him was the raw magic that fluctuated around her. It was so strong and potent that Negi actually stupidly froze to look at her in awe.

Though maybe he wasn't that stupid because he wasn't the only one. Konoka-san's fluctuating magic had caught everyone's attention and they'd all stopped fighting to stare at her.

"Negi-kun, what do I do?" His roommate asked with a terrified whimper, staring at her glowing hands and then back at him. "It's all just pouring out. I want to use it to help, but I don't know how!?"

Negi was at a loss. Having been trained to use his magic practically from birth, and only ever learned magic alongside those who had done the same, he had no idea what to say in this situation. But he was her teacher and he had to say _something_ , so he just winged it.

"Um, let your feelings guide you?"

Konoka just nodded and moments later there was a brilliant explosion of light with her as the epicentre.

As her magic surged out of her, Negi sensed the magic maintaining the sealed space _burn_ away. And as the light faded, he spun towards Yuna-san on instinct and saw her wounds seal shut as a soft shell of light covered her protectively. A groan from where Chamo had propped Nodoka-san up against a tree told him she'd been miraculously healed too.

"Leave my friends and I alone, you mean old hag. O-Or I might do something I can't take back!" Konoka-san shouted, staring at Chigusa with an uncharacteristic angry expression.

One that actually had Chigusa take a stumbling step back as sweat dripped down her face.

"Konoka!" A male voice screamed from further up the hill and the onmyoji spun around, only to pale as she saw the swarm of swordsmen and mages rushing down it, accompanied Negi noted with relief by an exhausted looking but safe Kazumi-san.

Chigusa and company did not share his relief though and upon sporting the arriving reinforcements promptly fled, chased by the Kansai magicians.

Her magic aura fading and in tears, Konoka-san, ran to her Father and hugged him tightly as she begun to weep into his shirt. He in turn held her as tightly as he can.

"It's okay, Kono-chan. Everything is going to be okay. Tou-chan promises." The man said as he comfortingly rubbed her back. "Let's get you home okay? Everything will be fine once we're home, alright?"

Still in her father's arms, Konoka-san just nodded.

* * *

Her lunatic mother's blade was inches away from Ranma's neck when a spinning drill of a sword suddenly appeared from nowhere and knocked it away in a shower of sparks.

"Get away from _my_ daughter, you nutcase!" Obasan said with a furious snarl as she moved between Ranma and her would be executioner.

"She isn't yours! You stole her from my husband! She had a responsibility and she failed it! She's worth nothing now!"

"The only one worth nothing here is you," Ojichan said as he too appeared from nowhere and kneeled beside Ranma. "Ranma-chan, you okay?"

"I-I think so," Ranma managed to force out. "But it hurts to move."

" **Tome of Caduceus**!" Ojichan whispered, activating the power of his Artifact **Bibliotheca Ars Magica Animo** (Magic Technique Spirit Bibliography) and calling upon the spirit of the aforementioned tome which took the form of a stylized depiction of the Greek god Hermes. "Take Ranma-chan to Haruna-chan and Kuonji-san. Heal her there and help keep them all safe."

"Yes, master." The spirit said as it gently picked Ranma up and teleported away.

When they rematerialized it was some distance away and in the middle of a ring of human sized golems shaped like feminine mechanical angels with large kite shields for wings, where Haruna and Ucchan were waiting

"Onee-sama!" Haruna shouted immediately, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Look at you! You're all hurt and everything! Are you okay?"

"Ran-chan, can you hear us? Are you alright?" Ucchan's urgent voice said as well.

"I-I'm fine." Ranma managed through the pain as the spirit of the Tome of Caduceus laid her carefully on the ground.

"No you are not," the spirit said firmly, even as it laid its hands on her and began healing her with its magic. "You are badly injured Miss Ranma. There is extensive damage to much of your body."

"But I'll live." Ranma said as the healing finished and she forced herself into a sitting position, with Ucchan rushing over to help support her.

"Why isn't she fully healed?" The swordswoman asked the spirit with narrowed eyes.

"I am unable to fully heal Miss Ranma's injuries, Miss Kuonji. Just the major ones." The spirit said apologetically. "My Master ordered me to also keep you all safe. If I healed all of her injuries I would not have enough magical power left to _also_ protect you."

"Cad-san, you're so rigid. Can't you loosen up?" Haruna asked the spirit.

"No." The spirit answered bluntly.

"What are Obachan and Ojichan doing here?"

"I think Mistress is just about to explain it, Miss Ranma." The spirit of the Tome of Caduceus said in its perpetually polite way while gesturing back to the fight between the adults.

"The moment we got the call from Haruna-chan about you being in Kyoto at the same time Ranma was, we rushed over." Obachan said as she continued to cross blades with the filicidal maniac. "We slapped you with that restraining order, but you can't even accept that can you? You sad, sick woman."

While Obachan kept the psycho in place, Ojichan hung back and channeled his magic to cast _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ (Magic Arrow, Lightning Series), raining down a barrage of lightning arrows at their enemy.

" _Bakuryūha_ (Backlash Wave)!" The crazy shouted but Obachan interrupted her technique mid swing by using _Shundō_ to teleport in close and knocking her blade out of position, before teleporting back out of range as Ojichan's lightning arrows hit the madwoman.

The crazy redhead wasn't so easily taken down though and despite what must have been enough volts to light up a decent sized house, or maybe even a town, coursing through her body, she somehow managed to get into a stance and pull off a technique.

" _Kongōsōha_ (Adamant Barrage)!" The disturbed woman shouted, firing a volley of diamond shaped projectiles at Ranma's parents with a forceful swing of her blade.

" _Qui Inexpugnabilem Arcem_ (Impenetrable Castle)!" Obachan shouted, causing the earth beneath where she and Ojichan stood to shoot up in thick walls that formed together into a makeshift castle.

The murderous redhead's technique slammed into this barrier and shattered it but neither of the Saotome parents were within Obachan's crumbling construct, having used _Shundō_ to teleport to either side of their enemy instead.

Amazingly, the loon managed to react to this unexpected counterattack and with a hurried shout of " _Tsuranaru Hebi_ (Icicle-formed Snake)!" she launched a frozen snake with icicles sticking out of its body from her blade that promptly wrapped around her like an icy, spiny shell.

Undeterred, the Saotome parents struck the woman from either side. Obasan with her **Miner Gladio Exercitatio** (Miner Drill Sword) as it spun rapidly and churned up a violent cone of magical energy and Ojisan with an electrically charged magical javelin created by the _Iaculatio Fulgoris_ (Lightning Spear Throw) spell. Combined the two attacks shattered the icy shell in an explosion of electricity and raw magical power and sent the madwoman flying.

The redheaded swordswoman crashed back to the ground, defeated and in a bleeding and convulsing mess.

Stabbing her Artifact into the earth, Obachan summoned a set of thick steel chains that shot out of the ground and promptly wrapped themselves tightly around the whack job. As they did, she dropped her sword which finally succumbed to Ranma's _Peredo_ and shattered into a million pieces.

As the shards of the blade fell and turned to dust, the nut job howled in fury and despair. Her cries of anguish would be something Ranma kept close to her heart for a long time. After everything, they warmed her heart.

Sadly, Obachan disagreed with the sound and bonked the woman hard on the head, knocking her out and causing her to fall into a crumpled heap. A heavily chained heap.

"We could have just cast a spell to knock her out." Ojichan reminded her.

"This was more satisfying." Obachan said with a smile that was sickeningly sweet.

"I guess you're right." Ojichan allowed as he picked the crazy up and they both walked over to Ranma and the others.

_Smart move, Ojichan. Obachan is scary when she's like this._

"Thanks Cad-kun," he said when he got close.

"A pleasure to help, Master." The summoned spirit said with a nod before disappearing in a shower of light alongside Haruna's golems as she dismissed them.

"So Ranma-chan," Obachan said, her hands on her hips and looking at the petite redhead with a chiding look. "What do you have to say for almost getting yourself killed?"

"Chinatsu, not now." Ojichan cut in before Ranma could reply. "We need to head to the Kansai Magic Association Headquarters and get her checked out first. As much as I trust Cad-kun, a field healing isn't a proper session with a healer. You can scold Ranma-chan on the way there."

Obachan frowned but nodded. "Alright then let's go. I want Ranma-chan looked at by a proper healer ASAP."

"Uh, can someone help me walk?" Ranma asked, blushing at having to admit her weakness. "My legs feel a little weak."

All the other women rushed to help her, but Obachan got there first and picked Ranma up and cradled her in a princess carry.

"Obachan~!" Ranma whined.

She hadn't been carried like this in _years_! As much as she enjoyed the feeling, it was _embarrassing_!

"Consider this one of your punishments!" Obachan declared firmly as she started walking, everyone else forced to follow after her. "And that's not gonna be all! You're still going to get scolded!"

"Uh, isn't that what you're doing now?"

"Exactly!" Obachan said with a nod. "Do you know how insanely reckless you were Ranma-chan!? Agreeing to meet _that woman_!? After knowing everything we told you about her!? Seriously!? Do you know how worried it made your Touchan and I when we just _heard_ about it!? And then we had to see her almost _kill_ you! That was- I don't even have the words! Damnit Ranchan! Please, please, never do that again!"

_I guess maybe the Dean and Takahata-sensei had a point. Maybe I can be reckless at times._

She wasn't going to be too easy on Takahata-sensei though for manhandling her. That was still unforgivable in her opinion.

That was a consideration for another time though, right now she had a crying Ob- no, Okaasan to apologize to.

"Sorry, Okaasan," Ranma said softly as she wiped away some of her mother's tears.

Said mother just let out a quiet sob of happiness and worry at her words and hugged her closer.

* * *

It took an hour, during which Okaasan refused to put her down no matter how much she squirmed or complained but eventually the Saotomes arrived at the Kansai Magic Association HQ with a restrained Saotome Nodoka in tow and were greeted with the sight of Negi-sensei and his party also just walking into the compound.

Kansai Magic Association HQ

"Ranma-san!" Konoka-san gasped as she spotted her and immediately dashed over to her side. "What happened? Why are you hurt?"

"Long story," Ranma said with a wince.

Even with Otouchan's tome spirit healing her, the petite girl was still covered in plenty of bruises and other minor injuries and the kindhearted brunette's concerned poking and prodding had just pressed on one of her biggest bruises.

"Oh no! Did that hurt? Did I hurt you!?" Konoka-san asked frantically as magic radiated off her in a visible corona of power. Power that flared in a brilliant burst of light in the wake of which the mage felt her lingering wounds seal and her aches fade away.

"What? How?" Ranma sputtered in confusion, even as an exhausted looking Konoka-san was caught in the arms of her father, the Kansai Association Head.

"Konoka's magical power was unlocked in a fight earlier." Eishun-sama said as he steadied his daughter. "If I was to guess, now that it's unlocked it's become easier for her to tap into it."

"But for accidental magic like that to be able to heal me so completely… Wow! Konoka-san's potential as a Mage must be incredible."

"I'm just happy to help," the aforementioned brunette said with a kind smile. "Are you feeling better?"

"I think so."

"You're still getting a full check up," Okaasan declared, deciding that there had been enough dillydallying and continuing the walk towards the compound.

"But Okaasan!"

"No arguing Ranchan." Otousan insisted.

"Not you too Otouchan!"

Ignoring her, Otouchan turned to Eishun-sama. "Where is the medical wing?"

The head of the Kansai Association nodded towards one of his servants while sporting an amused smile. "Ame-san will show you the way. And leave your prisoner here. I'll have my men take care of her."

"Thank you." Both of Ranma's parents said, as roughly tossing Saotome Nodoka to the ground, they followed the aforementioned servant to the medical wing with a pouting Ranma still in her mother's arms.

* * *

"So that's what happened." Haruna whistled as she and Negi-sensei finished swapping stories of what happened today over lunch. "Yeah-huh. Still, yours was pretty messed up too. A static loop up a huge staircase? Man, I don't know if that's cliche or just evil."

"Most probably evil." Negi-sensei assured as a look of disgust overcame his face. "I cannot believe that Ranma-san's biological mother would do such a thing. To her own child. I… cannot understand why."

"Some people are just sick like that," Haruna said with a shrug. "At least it's finally got Onee-sama to finally address Mama and Touchan properly. It just took a near death experience. Seriously, my Onee-sama is weird."

"Yes, I-I suppose so." Negi-sensei said, looking down. "But after all that we're in the clear now right? I mean, surely no one is foolish enough to attack the Kansai Magic Association Headquarters? Full of their best mages? It sounds suicidal."

"The trouble with _that woman_ is settled, but we aren't out of the woods yet." Haruna told him with a shake of her head. "The rogues weren't captured right?"

Negi shook his head.

"Then they might attack again."

"But like I said, attacking the Kansai HQ is suicide."

Haruna shrugged. "Not if you're really powerful."

"Surely the rogues don't have someone _that_ powerful on their side!"

"Who knows?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Oh yeah, we went there. Insane mother with some real issues. Saotome Nodoka is honestly, when not in a satire, a truly fucking messed up woman. Because holy shit. The lengths she would go in a straight setting? Sweet hell.
> 
> Nameless: Okay, I'm pretty sure someone will bring out how we made Saotome Nodoka OOC and that our interpretation of her is just bashing. For these people let me reiterate our stance on the matter: we are playing the things Ranma ½ canon played as jokes as straight instead, which makes them come off as simply terrible behavior. In light of that, her obsession with the blood contract and her threats to kill Ranma if she failed to uphold it have been reinterpreted into being what you saw in the chapter. If you cannot deal with that, I'm sorry, but maybe this story isn't for you.
> 
> At least Ranma got her true family out of this event. Because she honestly deserved it. Hugs! Hugs for life!
> 
> Nameless: Hugs for eternity! Seriously though, I hope you guys enjoyed seeing Ranma finally accepting her adoptive parents, as you know her actual parents. It was a long time coming and we hoped we pulled it off decently.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	18. Night of Mahora Heroes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Eighteen: Night of Mahora Heroes**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was the evening after Negi and his various students had reached the Kansai Magic Association Headquarters and he was now heading to the baths with the Association's leader, Eishun-sama. Konoka-san's father had specifically asked him to meet with him to discuss a few things, though why they had to talk in the baths was beyond Negi however it was not like he could tell the older man no. Not when he was the leader of a whole Magical Association.

"I hope you'll take good care of Konoka from now on, Negi-sensei." Eishun-sama said as the two of them walked into the baths.

"Yes, I will." Negi replied easily enough.

"Though I must say that I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble that my subordinates have caused you." The Kansai Magic Association leader said as they both dipped into the baths. "It's made your life difficult."

"Oh no. It wasn't your fault." Negi hastened to say.

"Please let us handle the rest." Eishun-sama said reassuringly. "There have always been those who thought poorly of the East… I'm just glad that there were only a few who have taken action against you."

Negi nodded. He shudders to think of what could have happened if their enemies were _even_ stronger.

"But you need not worry too much. We might be short-handed at the moment as my most skilled subordinates are scattered across Japan on assignments. However, several of them should return tomorrow. Once they've returned, we'll go punish her and her accomplices."

"Yes, sir!" Negi said, relieved that the matter was in hand. "Though may I ask what Chigusa-san is after?"

"At its most basic, she is simply acting on a few grudges with the wizards of the occident. I honestly don't know what to do with her."

"Why is she after Konoka-san then?"

"She must be after a trump card."

"A trump card?"

"Yes. Konoka comes from a long line of magicians, and as such she has tremendous magical power lying dormant within her. Her power is enough to surpass even that of your father, the Thousand Master. In other words, Konoka is potentially an extremely powerful magician. As I'm sure you've witnessed already."

Negi nodded, remembering the sight of Konoka-san simply willing her magic to shatter the time loop and healing Yuna-san so casually.

"Chigusa-chan must think that if she can control Konoka's power, it would be quite simple for her to not only take over the East but also defeat the West. To prevent anyone from doing that, we sent Konoka to Mahora where she would be safe. But we never told her about any of this."

"I-I see." Negi said as he tried to process all of that. "Wait! You know the Thousand Master!?"

"Your father?" Eishun-sama said with a coy grin. "I know him well. As it turns out Nagi Springfield was an old friend that I was stuck with for a long time."

"Eh!?" Negi cried out, flabbergasted.

He had just gathered his wits and was about to press Eishun-sama for details about his father when the voices of a large group of his students reached their ears as they headed their way. Panicking, Eishun-sama led him to hide - For whatever reason? The bath was unisex wasn't it? - which only led to a whole series of hijinks. As was typical when 3-A was involved it seemed.

* * *

Night had rolled in and Ranma was with her family. She was however not in a particularly good mood. How could she be when she'd been treated like a little kid by her parents earlier in the day and the madness in the baths Negi-sensei caused afterwards? The first had been incredibly embarrassing and the fiasco in the bath was even worse! What was with her classmates and acting the fool all the time even in the baths? Ranma was no prude but she had no interest in getting up to hijinks while nude!

"Come on sweetie, stop being so grouchy." Okaasan teased, poking one of Ranma's cheeks. "If you keep frowning so much, you'll get wrinkles."

"What wrinkles? I'm cursed to stay forever young."

"Oh, the horror." Okaasan grouched, her eye twitching. "Just stop being upset, okay, sweetie?"

"Listen to your Okaasan, Ranma." Otouchan chimed in with his agreement as he came into the guest room they'd been provided. "If anyone's got the right to be irritated right now then it's me. I'm the one who had to deal with the Kansai bureaucracy to get them to mop up any potential witnesses to the fight with _that woman_."

"Was it really _that_ bad?"

"It definitely is, Chinatsu." Otouchan said with a sigh. "Thank goodness for Konoe-sama. I much prefer the more laid back way we do things back in the Kanto Association."

"Enough complaining Touchan," Haruna said with a pout. "Now that you're back we can finally start."

"Start what?" Ranma asked warily.

"Hanafuda!" Her sister declared dramatically. "Onee-sama beat me on the train, so I want a rematch!"

"Alright, fine." Ranma sighed and gave her a weary smile.

"You want us to play too because?"

"Because Hanafuda is more fun the more people play of course! Duh!" Haruna said wagging her finger. "How can you _not_ know that Touchan?"

"Why don't we just give out the cards?" Okaasan said, cutting in before Haruna really got going and said something even _more_ hurtful to Otouchan's pride. She tended to do that. A lot.

They were just finished distributing the cards when suddenly a silver haired boy around Negi-sensei's age appeared out of nowhere. Ranma's gasp of surprise caught everyone's attention and they all turned to look at him in shock

" _Kakon Omma Petrôseôs_ (Evil Eye of Petrification)." the boy whispered as a beam of light shot from his fingers.

The boy was barely midcast when Okaasan and Otouchan threw themselves over Haruna and Ranma, shielding them from the light.

"Don't look at the light!" Otouchan shouted even as he was petrified, physically blocking Haruna from doing so while Okaasan had done the same for Ranma.

"R-Run!" Okaasan managed before the petrification fully took hold.

Ranma didn't want to, but she wasn't about to waste her parents' sacrifice. Grabbing her sister's hand, she ran pulling the stunned Haruna along with her.

Back in the room, the silver haired boy took a step with the intent to pursue the two girls but froze as a butterfly landed on his shoulder. He stood still like that for a moment, before with a nod he teleported away.

* * *

It was late evening and Negi was just walking back to his room after dinner when a sudden noise caught his attention. His instincts on a hair trigger from the constant attacks over this trip, the child teacher immediately ran towards the noise only to find a hall with several petrified servants.

"W-What is this?" Negi asked himself as seeing the petrified forms brought up unsettled feelings, his mind flashing back to screams and fire as he tried to push his panic down.

"N-Negi…" A raspy voice said from a branching corridor slightly further down from where he was.

"E-Eishun-sama!? What happened?" Negi asked at the alarming sight of the head of the Kansai Association with his leg and arm petrified.

"A-An attack." The older man said clutching his drawn sword tightly even as the petrification spread over his body. "By an immensely powerful foe. Take Konoka and flee. Quickly!"

He'd barely finished when the petrification fully took hold and reduced him to a stone statue.

Seeing this, his panic returned in full force, nightmares included, as the young boy ran off to search for his students.

_Be okay. Please, please! Just be alright! I don't want to lose more people! Please!_ Briefly the image of a frozen Mr. Steiner flashed in Negi's mind but he shook it away as soon as it had come. _I don't have time for that! I have to find my students!_

"Asuna-san! Konoka-san! Setsuna-san!" Negi shouted urgently as he slammed the door to the baths open where the three girls _should_ have been. They'd told him they were doing to take another bath after the fiasco in the afternoon. They had to be there!

However as the door opened, he only found Asuna-san busy fighting what looked like animated water shaped into tentacles while Setsuna-san jumped over the bath wall and out into the hills beyond the Kansai Association HQ.

"Negi! Help me!" Asuna-san shouted as she batted away at the tentacles with her harisen with one hand while struggling to protect her modesty by using the other to press a towel to her chest.

Sadly, now was not the time to respect his student's attempt despite the burning of his cheeks.

"Fulguratio Albicans (White Lightning)!" Negi incanted, sending a powerful blast of electricity from his palm at the mass of water.

Against a living creature, so much electricity might have been very harmful even deadly but against the animated water all it did was stun it. Thankfully, that was more than enough to allow Asuna-san to finally hit its main body with her harisen and dispel the magic keeping it animated.

"Thank goodness you got here Negi," Asuna-san said with a sigh of relief. "We need to hurry. The monkey lady's taken Konoka. Setsuna-san already went after her but we need to gather the others and do that too before that crazy can get too far."

"Right! We have to save Konoka-san! Or the Rogue faction may very well succeed in their plot!"

"Plot? They have a plot?" Asuna-san asked, blinking at him in confusion.

Not that Negi noticed, he was studiously looking away as a gentleman should when faced with a naked girl. And that was what Asuna-san was at the moment as she'd dropped her towel sometime while she had been explaining and was now completely in the buff.

"Negi, why aren't you looking at me?"

"B-Because you're naked!"

There was a long moment of silence before Asuna-san shrieked. "Turn around! And don't you dare peek!"

"I'm not looking!" Negi reminded her as he dutifully turned around, even as the sounds of someone hastily throwing on their clothes came from behind his back.

"There! I'm decent!" Asuna-san declared with relief, a moment later. "Now let's go! We need to hurry!"

"Right! Let's go!" Negi said as they both broke into a run to go search for their friends.

* * *

"There's our room," Asuna practically cried out in joy as she and Negi neared the guest room their little group of misfits had been provided.

The run there had been harrowing as they'd had to run pass dozens of petrified people. Some had been frozen looking unaware of what was happening, still mid-motion in whatever task they had been doing before the assailant had struck. Others though… The looks of shock or even anger frozen in stone on their petrified faces would likely haunt Asuna's nightmares.

"Good," Negi said, his voice bursting with earnest hope as he swung the byōbu screens acting as a door open. "Let's get everyone and we can go aft-"

He cut himself off at the terrible sight before them. Inside the room were Asakura-san, Ukyo-san, Honya-chan and Yuna-san petrified just like everyone else they'd passed in the compound so far. Unlike most, they'd tried to put up some kind of a fight. Yuna-san was aiming her gun to the door, Ukyo-san had her sword drawn and Honya-chan was reading from her Artifact. Even Chamo was frozen mid motion where he sat on Yuna-san's shoulder as he pointed presumably in the direction of their attacker. The worst though was Asakura-san who was cowering in a corner holding onto a lamp as a makeshift weapon and looking terrified.

"No~!" Negi said as he collapsed to his knees looking like his hopes had been crushed.

Asuna couldn't blame him. She felt a lot like that too. But… Konoka! If they could rescue her then maybe her uber healing magic could fix this! It had to! Right?! They needed to focus on saving Konoka!

"Ucchan!" Ranma-san's frantic voice reached Asuna's ears and she spun to an adjoining corridor to see the redhead all but dragging her sister towards them with a haunted look in the greenette's eyes. In contrast, the rage radiating from the small redhead was chilling. There seemed to be nothing there but pure fury.

"What happened on your end?" Asuna asked, hating to be blunt but their numbers were dwindling fast and she needed to get a grasp on the situation ASAP.

"Nodoka! Not you too!" Paru gasped in shock at the frozen scene in the guest room. "And Ukyo-san and Akashi-san too? We're screwed. Onee-sama, what do we do!?"

"Ssh, Haruna. Everything will be alright." The redhead said comfortingly to her sister before turning to answer Asuna. "Otousan and Okaasan, got petrified. They shielded us."

The way Ranma-san spoke reminded Asuna of nothing more than a volcano on the verge of an eruption. Her anger was like a physical force that scalded everyone who heard them with every word. It was enough to make Asuna back away from her in instinctive fear.

"W-We'll fix this." The twintailed girl said, trying her best to be reassuring. "If we can find Konoka, she can save them. I'm sure!"

"Yes, that might work. A burst of her raw magical power alone should be able to break the petrification. Even one of such a high level. But only if we act fast." Ranma said with a thoughtful frown which just added to how scary she looked since was still radiating anger. A furious genius mage who could think even when consumed by rage? It stirred some kind of primal fear in Asuna that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Adeat." Paru said, summoning her sketch pad into her hands. She pulled out her magical quill and started to doodle on the paper. "I-I'll make us some sentries. We n-need to bolster our numbers. I don't, I don't know if-"

"Haruna," Ranma-san shook her sister's shoulder softly, "Don't rush, focus on what we need. I know you can do it. We'll take what we can get."

"We don't need sentries now I don't think." Asuna said after some thought, taking a thinker pose. "Anyone here can track people? 'Cos while everyone got turned to stone that monkey lady came and kidnapped Konoka again."

"So we need to rescue her? Again?"

Asuna nodded even if she misliked the dark way Ranma-san's eyes narrowed at the mention of needing to rescue Konoka again.

It wasn't like Konoka was trained to fight or anything! She didn't say anything about it though. Tempers were frayed enough as is.

"We need to get Konoka-san back," Negi said in agreement as he stood. "We'll get her back and ask her to save these people. I swear it!"

"I can track her." Ranma-san said as she cast a number of quick spells over herself. "We'll need transport though, only I and Sensei can fly-"

"I'll draw something up." Paru said as she immediately got to work.

"Good." Negi said his voice brimming with determination. "Then let's go rescue our friend and save everyone!"

* * *

A few minutes later found the quartet flying over the forested hills behind the Kansai Association HQ on the back of Haruna's new Flying Manta Ray golem as they followed the directions provided by Ranma as she guided them after Konoka-san using the trail the enhanced senses granted her by her _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura) spell had revealed.

Even as they flew the images of stone effigies of those that had been petrified back in the HQ continued to plague her thoughts. This just stoked the hate already burning strong in the cursed girl's blood more and more. So many hurt, her Okaasan and Otousan most of all, just because some morons wanted to spill blood by using Konoka-san like a tool.

_Maybe if her family weren't total idiots and told her who she was, Konoka-san wouldn't have been so ill-prepared! Maybe she wouldn't have been kidnapped so easily if she knew how to fight! But no, the hime-sama shouldn't raise a finger I guess. Just leave things to her bodyguard! Tch, how stupid! Not like Sakurazaki-san did much good in this situation._

"Onee-sama, Tatsumiya-san says she's on her way." Haruna said, pulling Ranma away from her thoughts as she struggled to put her phone away with one hand whilst keeping her other hand on the mark above her golem's head. A necessity due to a design flaw she'd need to fix for her next iteration of this construct. One that required her to maintain physical contact with the mark for her to control the golem. "She's also bringing some, in her own words, 'reinforcements'."

"Who could she mean?" Negi-sensei asked. "I mean, I get that you said she's actually a magically aware and capable fighter but who else fits that bill?"

"I honestly don't know." Haruna replied with a shrug. "Tatsumiya-san didn't say. She just said they'd be useful."

"Hopefully, we're not getting more people hurt by involving them." Negi-sensei said worriedly.

"Tatsumiya-san is a professional." Ranma hissed at him irritably. "She won't bring amateurs. If she thinks they'll be useful then they will be. Now stop worrying about your students _not_ in danger and focus on those who _are_!"

"Speaking of that, I'm worried about Setsuna-san." Asuna-san said while biting her lower lip. "She ran off alone to chase after Konoka. She didn't even put on any clothes! Just grabbed her sword and jumped over the wall!"

"We'll find out soon enough." Ranma told her dismissively. "They should be just over this ridge."

Even as she spoke, they flew over a ridge and came within view of a large clearing bordering a lake on the far side within which Sakurazaki-san was fighting that Tsukuyomi girl from last night. Immediately, Negi jumped off Haruna's golem and flew towards them on his own power.

"Paru, take us closer to the ground. Now!"

"Already on it!" Haruna said as she directed her golem towards a landing in the clearing.

"Something's not right." Ranma hissed as she looked around the clearing. "Where is the monkey lady and her other accomplice?"

"Who cares!?" Asuna-san shouted as she jumped off and began running towards Sakurazaki-san's duel, quickly catching up to the rather slow flying Negi-sensei. Apparently he was still struggling with how to fly without using his staff and was either too stupid or arrogant to use his focus even now when speed was of the essence.

"Onee-sama, you don't think-"

"At least one of you lot isn't a total idiot." The taunting voice of a boy with dog like features - the mercenary Inugami Kotarou, if Ranma remembered what Eishun-sama had told them correctly - said as he jumped from the canopy of a majestically tall tree and landed directly in front of Negi-sensei and Asuna-san cutting them off. Worse, the moment he landed the shadows stirred to life and a horde of demons materialized, presenting a wall of inhuman muscle between them and Sakurazaki-san.

"Out of our way! _Iovis_ -"

"Yeah right!" Inugami barked, landing a kick right into Negi-sensei's stomach that had him doubling over.

Not letting the boy mage recover, the hanyou grabbed hold of the Welshman's arms and picking him up, proceeded to toss him into the surrounding forest like a sack of potatoes before charging after him in a black blur.

"Negi!" Asuna-san shouted urgently as she rushed to aid their Sensei only to be blocked by a pack of particularly over muscled demons.

"Out of my way, you lousy freaking demons! I'll exorcize each and every last one of you, if I have to. So MOVE!" The twintailed girl shouted as she raised her harisen high, her heterochromatic eyes ablaze with cold fury.

"Haruna, give us an army." Ranma ordered even as her sister was already busy at work.

"Righto~!" Haruna sang, high with excitement. "Aniki DXs, Shield Maidens! Come out and help us smash some demons!"

As she spoke, dozens of overly muscled humanoid golems not too different from the demons they faced appeared out of the ether in front of the sisters. These Aniki DXs were in turn supported by a phalanx of golems shaped like feminine mechanical angels with large kite shields for wings. This army had barely finished materializing before they charged the demons. The DXs engaging with their demonic counterparts in fisticuffs while the Shield Maidens used the razor sharp edges of their wings to cut the hellspawn to ribbons.

"Haruna! Wipe them out! I'll provide fire support!" Ranma shouted as she shot up into the sky to get a clear view of the whole battlefield.

A few of the demons took to the air to try and stop her but the mage made quick work of them with a few shots of _Sagitta Hystrix_ (Porcupine Arrow). With those nuisances dealt with, the redhead easily obtained the eagle's eye view of the clearing she wanted.

_I've got you lot now._ Ranma thought with a vicious smirk as she leveled her crossbow at the demonic masses and prepared to unleash her fury upon the fools.

" _Sagitta Mixta_ (Mixed Arrows)!" Ranma incanted, sending a massive barrage of magical arrows screaming down into the back ranks of the demons' horde.

The fastest of her arrows and the first to hit were her _Sagitta Telam_ (Web Arrow) that proceeded to restrain dozens of demons in sticky webbing, making them perfect targets for her followup. Some were hit by _Sagitta Scorpionem_ (Scorpion Arrow) that poisoned them and left them reeling. Others were hit by _Equus Calcitrant_ (Horse Kick) that sent the smaller demons flying outright and caused even the larger ones to stagger from the pure kinetic power of the spell. Last but not least, dozens of demons found themselves impaled by the spines of _Sagitta Hystrix_ and sent screaming back to whatever hell from whence they came.

Her barrage naturally caused chaos in the demonic ranks and they scattered to minimise the impact of another barrage. This made them easy pickings for Haruna's golems and Asuna-san which was exactly what Ranma wanted. In so doing it also provided a clear shot at Sakurazaki-san's opponent. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ranma naturally took it.

" _Venenum Framea_ (Poison Spear)!" The redhead mage incanted, sending a large spear of poison energy flying at the lolita fashion loving swordswoman.

Aforementioned swordswoman noticed the incoming spell and tried to evade, but Sakurazaki-san was on the ball and moved in to keep her in place with a blade lock. Distracted, the brunette in the fancy dress was hit dead on and with a shrill scream promptly collapsed into an unconscious heap.

_A full dose of propofol can do that to a person._ Ranma thought with smug satisfaction, even as Sakurazaki-san rushed off towards the lake heedless of the rest of them.

"Tsch. Some help would have been nice." Ranma said in an angry hiss as she prepared another barrage on the demons below. "It's not like you practice a sword style that's _designed_ to exorcise demons."

She'd barely finished making her sarcastic observation when a surge of magical power pulsed from the nearby lake. Spinning in its direction, Ranma found herself looking transfixed as a monstrous, multi armed demon of kaiju proportions rose from the watery depths. It radiated a shocking amount of unholy power, so much so that it alone had everyone fighting below freezing in shock.

"What in the sweet hell…" Ranma trailed off as she started at the towering demonic figure that was still rising from the lake. The power it radiated made Ranma feel small.

Ever so small.

How were they supposed to fight that?

* * *

While Ranma and the rest of the girls were fighting the demonic horde, Negi found himself forced into a duel with that half-demon mercenary Inugami Kotarou.

The moment that Negi had saw Inugami charging at him, he'd silently cast _Cantus Bellax_ (Song of Battle) on himself, knowing full well that he'd need the enhancement spell just to survive a bout with the half-demon. Sadly even with the spell, he was unable to react in time to stop Inugami from kicking him and tossing him away from the others. It did however increase his physical ability just enough so that when the half-demon leaped after him and tried to punch him again, he managed to put a guard up.

The blow still hurt like hell but he imagined it would've been worse especially as it knocked him into the ground, cratering the earth in the process. Much, much worse if he hadn't at least blocked it.

"Not bad. Using your magic to fly and control your fall after I tossed you and now blocking my blow? So you're not a total loser after all." Inugami said with a pleased grin. "I wasn't wrong to single you out as my opponent."

" _Deflexio_ (Wind Shield)," Negi incanted in a quiet murmur as he pulled himself back to his feet even as the anti-physical protective magic settled over his body.

"Done with your buffs, Western Mage-kun?" Inugami asked tauntingly.

Negi didn't reply, he just threw his right hand out at the dog boy and cast his spell. " _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ (Magic Arrow, Lightning Series)!"

The half-demon was already moving though and easily evaded the magic arrows as he charged at Negi. Even as he did so, his hands visibly changed into beastial looking claws as befitted his demonic heritage.

"Come on! How can you be so bloody fast?" Negi griped as he blocked the axe kick the other boy sent his way.

"It's called _Shundō_ (Instant Movement), Mage-boya." The beast boy shouted as he recovered from his kick and launched into a haymaker punch.

Negi just leapt out of his range.

"Think a little distance is gonna help you? Think again! _Kuuga_ (Vacuum Fang)!" The half-demon roared, sending a blast of ki in the form of a fang hurtling at Negi.

_Damn it! I won't win this by fighting him head on. He's just too strong for me. I need to fight smart._ Negi thought as he used a little application of magic to his still active _Volant_ (fly) - _And thank you Ranma-san for teaching me how to use it without my staff!_ \- to avoid Inugami's latest attack.

" _Nebula Hypnotica_ (Mists of Sleep)." Negi whispered under his breath, conjuring a bank of mist that began to blanket his surroundings.

"A smokescreen? Lame!" The half-demon said with an unimpressed snort. "I can totally still track you by sound and smell, ya know that right? But even if I didn't this is pathetic. Let me show you why! _Kuuga_!"

With that exclamation, Negi's opponent fired his ki blast directly into the thickest part of the mist and dispersed it. A feat he repeated over and over again until the mist had all but disappeared, though by that point it had already done its job.

"W-What the hell?" Inugami muttered, one of his legs slamming forward, as he struggled to keep himself standing. "Crap. What was that mist, you bastard?!"

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_!" Negi said in lieu of an answer, shocking the other boy with a dozen lightning arrows and causing him to collapse face first in a twitching heap. "Sleeping magic. You'd have got it if you knew Latin. It's in the spell's name."

The half-demon let out a gurgle in response feebly clawing at the ground, trying to get back up but kept slipping on leaden limbs.

"Sorry, Inugami-san but I can't let you get up again." Negi said, genuinely apologetic. " _Flans Saltatio Pulverea_ (Windflower Dust Storm)."

At his command, a powerful gale came into being around Negi that proceeded to shoot forward and slam into the half-demon like a freight train and carry him off deeper into the forest at high speed.

Negi's heart thundered in his chest, jubilation at his successful battle against someone that just one fight earlier was battering him senseless. The feeling of accomplishment made a smile grow on his face.

_I didn't actually think I'd win… Maybe I've gotten stronger?_

A powerful burst of magic from the lake had him turning in its direction where he saw a many armed monstrous humanoid the height of a skyscraper raise out of the lake where Konoka-san had been taken and radiating the vast foul energes of a demon god. The sight immediately caused Negi's smile to die and be replaced by a grim frown that marred his face. Without another thought, he rushed to the lake to help with the rapidly escalating situation.

* * *

Ranma and the others meanwhile were still too preoccupied fighting the demons to do the same.

"Isn't there an end to these pests?" Ranma hissed in anger as she fired another barrage of magic arrows down on the demonic mob.

"He-yah!" A voice exclaimed as a dozen demons were suddenly sent flying past her. Turning in the direction they came from, she saw Ku Fei-san striking a pose, a wild grin on her face. "Oh! So many targets to smack, aru!"

"Focus, Ku Fei." Tatsumiya-san chided as she drew her twin Desert Eagles from her holsters. "These aren't typical thugs."

"Thugs? Me thought they monsters, aru?"

"Same thing." The tall beauty smirked as she released a dozen bullets in the span of seconds. Each headshot dispelling a demon before she released her clips and reloaded. "I'm being paid generously, so let's clean them out."

"Ara? The Dean must be _truly_ generous if you are so eager, Mana." Kaede-san stated, a large shuriken in her hand.

"Hehe, just try and keep up, Kaede." Tatsumiya-san scoffed as she glanced at Asuna-san and Ranma. "Hey, go back up Negi-sensei. We'll handle this but last I saw he was heading over to the lake. He'll need whatever backup he can get, alright?"

"Haruna, stay behind! Asuna-san and I will handle things at the lake!" Ranma shouted down at her sister as she prepped one last volley.

"Huh!? Why can't I come?"

"Because," Tatsumiya-san stepped in helpfully to explain even as she shot a pair of demons in the head with some kind of exorcism bullet that dispelled the two hellspawn. "Your golems make up the bulk of our forces. If you go, things will be tough for the group fighting the army."

"Oh fine~!" Haruna conceded with a pout even as Ranma let her magic arrows fly. "But Onee-sama! You've gotta get Konoka-san back no matter what alright! Mama and Touchan are counting on you!"

"I will! I promise!" Ranma shouted back and moved to fly off.

Before she could though, the Inugami boy ran out of the woods suddenly and tried to make for the lake. Thankfully Nagase-san intercepted him by materializing out of the shadows ahead of the boy alongside a large contingent of _Kage Bunshin_ (Shadow Clone) which proceeded to dogpile him.

_How suitably ironic._ Ranma thought with a sadistic little grin. _A dog hanyou being dogpiled! If things weren't going to hell, I'd even find it worth a chuckle._

Now wasn't the time though so shaking her head Ranma took a moment to make _sure_ that the demon army was being held at bay by Mana and her 'reinforcements' before she took off after Asuna-san and Negi-sensei, both of whom were already making their way to the lake.

* * *

Negi led the trio as they raced across the short distance towards the lake. They had all set off at slightly different times but by some providence - Or just their relative abilities, maybe? - they'd ended up emerging out of the treeline around the lake at the same time and was met with yet another unsettling sight for the night.

Before them was a silver haired boy hovering over the lake directly ahead of them and holding a battered and beaten Setsuna-san in a chokehold, the girl struggling futilely against his grip.

"You are certainly tenacious," the boy - who couldn't be older than Negi was - said with a dismissive air. "And my desire to see the lengths you'd go is the only reason why I didn't simply petrify you. Do not presume otherwise."

At last sensing he had new opponents, the boy turned to face them, tossing Setsuna-san carelessly to the side in the process.

The force of his throw managed to send the swordswoman flying a considerable distance and Ranma-san rushed to catch her, barely managing to do so before the taller girl crashed into the ground. With a grunt of effort, the redhead slowly lowered the girl down to the earth. Even at a distance, Negi could see the many wounds that littered her body, and by the shaky way she was breathing they must've been incredibly painful as well.

_How? How could anyone hurt another person that badly!? I-Is he a demon?_ Negi thought, as fear struck him at even facing someone who was willing to hurt another human being so badly. Demons and monsters he could understand, they were evil by nature but why would a human sink to something like this!? He couldn't understand!

"Greetings, Springfield-san, Saotome-san. My name is Fate Averruncus and I'll be your opponent now."

"What am I? Chopped liver? And isn't that a cliche villain line?" Asuna-san snorted as she charged. "Get out of our way!"

"Kagurazaka-san! Don't rush in, he's da-" Setsuna-san's cried out, but it was too little, too late.

The Fate boy had already teleported out of the way of Asuna-san's attack and retailated with a simple but powerful kick to her head that sent her flying.

"Asuna-san!" Negi cried out in alarm as his Ministra crashed into the shallows nearby.

"Damn that hurt!" The orangette said with a groan and a rub to her head as she shakily pushed herself back to her feet. "You're going to pay for that, you brat!"

"How disappointing, Springfield-san, Saotome-san. Relying on that girl's magic cancel?" The Fate boy said with a raised eyebrow, the rest of his face staying disturbingly neutral. "Is that all you can manage?"

" _Pere-_ " Ranma-san began only for the silver haired mage to teleport again, this time directly in front of Negi where he lashed out with an almost lazy kick.

Lazy or not, the power behind it was insane! It instantly shattered the still active _Deflexio_ that Negi had on and sent him flying.

A monster. The other boy was a monster in human skin! That was the only way to describe this boy. The sheer casual air about him as he was trouncing them… it was bone chilling.

"You'll have to cast faster than that, Saotome-san. The Corrosion element is deadly, but that amounts to nothing if your spells can't hit their targets."

In reply, Ranma-san sent a barrage of sickly purple magic arrows at the monster that splashed against the boy's mandala-like set of magical barriers that protected him from all angles. Barriers that Negi could sense were stronger than he'd seen on _any_ mage. Even Evangeline-san in their fight! But yet despite that Ranma-san's arrows still managed to eat through them. There was honestly no other way to describe it. Instead of detonating on impact with the barrier like the norm, Ranma's magic arrows had become something like worms instead and began burrowing their way through them.

_What in the world?_ Negi thought in shock at the sight.

"Like my _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow), you white haired freak?" Ranma-san asked, as she sent another barrage of her strange new spell at their enemy.

"The reports did indicate you always did have an affinity with _Sagitta_ type spells." Fate said with an impressed nod. "It was foolish of me to expect you wouldn't be able to use the Corrosion element in one and to great effect. However-"

At this he vanished and appeared in front of Ranma, his fist already driving into her gut and lifting her petite body off the ground, her _Armis Testa_ (Shell Armor) falling to pieces all around her. The air visibly left her lungs in a gasp and Negi saw her try to scream, but nothing came out.

"-this is not enough." The silver haired monster said as he grabbed Ranma-san's collar with his free hand and pulled her off his other, before tossing her roughly aside.

She crashed into the shallows near the water's edge and curled in on herself, holding her stomach.

" _Zanganken_ (Stone-Cutting Sword)!" Setsuna-san roared in fury from her place next to their opponent, but her attack just splashed harmlessly against his barriers which were _still_ being chewed through by Ranma-san's earlier magical arrows(!?).

"Why must you be such a nuisance? You are unwanted here." He said as he flicked his finger in Setsuna-san's direction and a conjured pebble flew like a bullet at her, ripping right through the swordswoman's right shoulder, shattering the bone and creating a gaping wound.

Negi immediately ran towards his injured student to offer what first aid he could. His compatriots however were more focused on avenging her.

"Setsuna-san!" Asuna-san roared as she leaped at the boy with her harisen overhead for a powerful downward strike.

"Mm, you too are starting to be a nuisance in my evaluation. Do stay back." He said as with a casual kick, he sent clods of dirt and stones flying into the air directly into Asuna-san's face.

The force of his attack didn't completely negate her momentum and she still managed to come down where he'd been standing but by that point he'd already teleported away.

"Your magic cancel is most vex-"

He never got to finish his sentence before a sickly purple lance slammed into his barriers and shattered them. Immediately, the worm like _Sagitta Senium_ from Ranma-san's previous attacks shot down at him where they consumed him in a sickly purple sphere that quickly shrunk out of existence.

"E-Eat my _Erugo Lanceam_ (Corrosion Lance), you psycho." A pained looking Ranma-san said through gritted teeth.

"Impressive. Most impressive, Saotome-san. You have passed my evaluation." The boy said with a clap from behind them.

"That son of a bitch used _Conniveo_ (Blink) to teleport before my _Sagitta Senium_ could get him."

"You are quite correct, Saotome-san." Fate agreed, sounding almost sycophantic as he spoke for some reason. "Truly you live up to your reputation as a genius to be able to discern even my choice of spell."

"Did you forget about me?" Asuna-san shouted as she once more charged the white haired boy.

"No, I did not." The boy said from behind Asuna-san where he'd suddenly appeared in a blur with a fist in her side.

She seemed to crumple around the blow as she fell to the ground, where she promptly began clutching at her ribs and howled in agony.

"Hmm… It appears Chigusa-san is almost done fully awakening the demon god." Fate noted with an absent glance at the frozen monster standing in the middle of the lake. "No matter. I still have Springfield-san's evaluation to com-"

The strange boy suddenly cut himself off as a butterfly landed on his shoulder. He cocked his head to the side, all other movement arrested as if he was a statue. He stayed like that for a full minute before abruptly nodding and teleporting away

Negi looked around them warily, his grip on his staff held so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"He's gone." Ranma-san said with a frown. "I still have _Venator Sphaeram_ active and I don't sense him anywhere. I think he teleported away."

"N-Negi-sensei," Setsuna-san said as she forced herself to her feet, a shuddering gasp of pain escaping her. "O-Ojou-sama! W-We need to save Ojou-sama!"

"Setsuna-san, wait! You're too injured!"

The swordswoman ignored him and even though her sword arm was barely hanging onto her body thanks to the gaping hole in her shoulder, she kept walking towards the center of the shallow lake where Chigusa-san was holding onto an unconscious Konoka-san and draining her of her magical power to empower the demon god.

"She's right," Ranma-san said as she too struggled to her feet. "We still need to rescue Konoka-san. She's the only hope for all those petrified back at the Kansai HQ."

"Yeah." Asuna-san said as she walked up to him, holding her injured side with one hand but holding onto her Artifact with the other. "So let's go already."

_These girls… Just how strong are they…_

"Um. Let's go!" Negi declared as he wiped his face of the sweat that had accumulated from all the fighting so far. It definitely wasn't tears that had formed in his eyes at the realization of the fortitude of his students. Definitely not.

Sadly, incredible fortitude or not. They were too late. The group had barely got moving again when with a roar, the demon god came to life.

"You're too late you brats!" Chigusa-san shouted with a maniacal sneer on her face, finally deigning to notice them. "Time to get squashed!"

At her words, the monster under her command lifted one of its immense fists overhead and began to bring it down directly on top of them!

_Is this how I die!?_ Negi thought as the fist came down towards them. _NO!_

" _Flans Paries Venti Vertentis_ (Windflower Whirlwind, Barrier of Wind)!" Negi shouted, casting the most powerful defensive spell he knew.

The spell conjured a dome of spiraling wind that stopped the massive fist, shocking everyone. Negi included.

"Go!" Negi shouted as he ran. "The barrier will only last a second or two longer!"

The others heeded his words and burst into sprints, narrowly avoiding being crushed as the barrier failed and the demon god's fist came down like a meteor and flattened where they had been standing not seconds ago.

"You do realize this demon god has four hands right!?" Chigusa-san said with a crazed laugh as the monster began playing a game of whack-a-mole with them. Slapping or punching the ground around the lake's edge trying to crush them while the four of them ran as fast as they could to stay ahead of its attempts.

"I-I can't keep this up much longer," Ranma-san admitted with a wheeze. Negi noted that she'd not been breathing right since she got punched by Fate. That she had held out till now was already incredible but it seemed she was finally nearing even her insane limits. "W-We need a new p-plan."

They were saved the trouble when a massive freezing blast unexpectedly hit the demon god from on high, locking it in place.

"Hmph! I guess insects consider any wannabe a demon god in this day and age. How disappointing."

Looking up Negi spotted Chachamaru-san hovering in the air with her thrusters on full burn while armed with a massive cannon and Evangeline-san floating next to her with a bored expression on her face.

"Master, Barrier Bomb setup is complete."

"Fire."

"Roger, Master."

With a single report from the cannon, a single projectile glowing with magic slammed into a previously invisible barrier that surrounded Chigusa-san. This amazingly complex barrier held for a second or two - In which time, Negi was awed by its intricacy. - before shattering like glass.

"Imposs-" The stunned onmyouji said before being cut off as Evangeline-san suddenly swooped past her with a blade of purple light extended from her fingers.

When she came to a stop next to Konoka-san, Chigusa-san's body flash froze before splitting into two pieces that fell towards the lake, shattering into more pieces along the way. At the same time her other hand grasped Konoka-san by the collar of the bathrobe she was wearing, holding her like some rabbit by the scruff of its neck.

"Ugh, your grandfather owes me for saving you. I swear, playing the hero is _so_ demeaning." Evangline-san grunted, looking annoyed

"As for the big guy... I can't have him running around, but I can't exactly kill the guardian of the local ley lines either. Ugh! I guess there's only one option! Chachamaru, fire the Sealing Bullet!"

"Yes, Master!"

Again Chachamaru-san's cannon barked, this time her target was the still frozen demon god. Upon impact, the monster was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of magic circles which glowed brightly and spun rapidly as the beast slowly receded back into the lake where it had slumbered for so long.

_She made that all look easy… Just how powerful is she!? And how in the world did I beat her last time!?_ Negi asked himself as he pondered that Evangeline-san might have very well been holding back in their fight.

It gnawed at him inside.

Evangeline-san seemed intent to wait until the demon god had fully disappeared back into the depths of the lake, before finally bringing Konoka-san over to them. No one tried to rush her. Well, almost no one.

Despite being badly injured, Setsuna-san rushed towards her precious Ojou-sama.

"Ojou-sama!" The swordswoman shouted bounding across the shallow lake towards the object of her devotion. It happened between one leap and the next. Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, a pair of beautiful white wings burst out of Setsuna-san's back. Wings that she promptly used to fly the remaining distance.

"So she's a hanyou," Ranma-san said with a snort. "Tengu tribe if I'm not wrong. Explains why she's so good with magic."

"Stop spoiling the mood," Asuan-san chided the redhead who just snorted in reply but nevertheless kept quiet.

"H-Huh? Set-chan?" Konoka-san asked in a groggy tone, just waking up as the thoroughly exhausted Setsuna-san grabbed her in a hug. With elated tears, the swordswoman flashed her a pained smile.

"O-Ojou-sama, y-you are safe now. I'm so happy." Setsuna-san shuddered, her good arm wrapping around Konoka-san, her grasp tight. "So, so happy."

"Set-chan! You're hurt!" Konoka-san panicked as she held her friend tightly, magic pouring out of her in cascading waves of power as slowly, the hole in Setsuna-san's shoulder knit shut. The rest of her wounds closed at differing rates, some of the smaller gashes taking longer to close, while some of the larger wounds closed in an instant. While yet others closed at the opposite rate altogether.

"That's pretty impressive healing magic you've got there, girly." Evangeline-san said with a narrowed, appraising look. "I'm not an expert on healing magic, seeing as being a vampire I can't use it, but I think your potential is staggering if you did that off instinct alone. Hmm… Yes! Why don't we test that potential right now!"

"Huh? What? How?" A confused Konoka-san asked, holding tightly to Setsuna-san and if Negi wasn't wrong using the hug as an excuse to cover her naked best friend's body. Yes, Setsuna-san had been naked the whole fight. Yes, Negi had gotten a look at things that no boy his age had any right to. But it wasn't his fault! They were in the middle of a life or death fight!

Completely ignoring or unaware of his embarrassment, Evagneline-san just pointed at him and Ranma-san. "Heal those two, would you?"

"Hey! Why am I being left out?" Asuna-san said as she took off her coat and offered it to Konoka-san. "Here Konoka, Setsuna-san."

"Thank you, Asuna-san." A blushing Setsuna-san said as she pulled the coat tightly around herself, finally covering herself up. She blushed even harder when Konoka-san possessively adjusted the coat to make sure nothing was showing.

"You should have at least worn a shirt, Set-chan. What if you got a cold?"

"Ojou-sama, you were kidnapped!"

"No excuses!"

"Your anti-magic powers would interfere with the healing magic." Chachamaru-san answered Asuna-san's question as she landed next to them, breaking up the couple's little moment.

Asuna-san just pouted.

"Sorry, Asuna." Konoka-san with a frown. "But, um, I'll be happy to heal Negi-sensei and Ranma-san. But, um, how?"

"Just think whatever you did when you healed your girlfriend." Evangeline-san said dismissively.

"G-Girlfriend!?" Setsuna-san sputtered.

"Shush, Set-chan. I need to concentrate."

"Hai, Ojou-sama."

"Whipped." Asuna-san teased, only to get kicked in the shin by Konoka-san who had her face scrunched up in concentration.

"Asuna, shh!"

It took awhile but eventually another burst of healing light burst forth from her and washed over him and Ranma-san, healing their injuries.

"Huh? She even healed my broken ribs and my ruptured intestines too." Ranma-san said poking at her side. "That's pretty miraculous since it's pretty much just accidental magic."

"I'll have to agree with you," Evangeline-san nodded. "But more importantly-"

"You had broken ribs and ruptured intestines!?" Negi shouted in shock alongside Asuna-san and Setsuna-san, finishing Evangeline-san's sentence for her as she smirked.

"Uh, yeah. I just ignored it. We _were_ fighting for our lives or did you guys forget that?" Ranma-san dryly retorted. "Besides it was nothing a week or two with a healer wouldn't fix. No biggie."

_What is her pain tolerance?!_ Negi gaped at his student.

"And that's why you're impressive too." Evangeline-san commended. "Kagurazaka only has a bruised rib and she's already clutching her side in pain like it's going to kill her. You? You got potentially fatal internal injuries and you just shrug it off. Good job!"

"S-Shut up, Eva-chan!" Asuna-san growled, her cheeks a bright red.

"Hey, who said a minion like you can address me in such a manner?" Evangeline-san growled in return.

"I… I have to go help the people inside. It's-! This should have never happened." Konoka-san said, looking down at the grass, tears spilling from her eyes. "Evangeline-san, can you help me with trying to fix them? You must know some spells that can help or at least guide me through reversing it?"

"No real need," Evangeline-san said with a shrug. "A raw burst of your power should do the trick. I think. I'll need to check a few things, but it should be right as rain. That doll that was thrashing you didn't seem like he was all that serious."

"You sure? Power on that scale is pretty hard to master. And if it goes haywire…"

"Her affinity is almost purely healing," Evangeline-san reminded with a wave of her finger. "It'll be fine."

Ranma-san didn't look convinced but nodded.

_Wow… Ranma-san and Evangeline-san get along very well… Is this really the first time they've really talked?_

The two girls' chemistry was something to ponder another time. For now, Negi had other more pressing questions.

"Um, Evangeline-san, not to be rude or anything but how and why are you here?"

"You can thank Tatsumiya." The vampire said with a shrug. "As she was rushing to help you, she called the Headmaster who sent me. As to how? Well, the Headmaster just had to designate that this field trip was a school sanctioned event to trick the seal trapping me in Mahora."

"It couldn't have been _that_ simple." Ranma-san scoffed.

"Of course not," Evangeline-san said with a malicious smirk. "Last I saw the Dean, he was busy signing copy after endless copy of the permission form allowing me to leave the Academy with the seal destroying them almost as soon as he lifted his pen from the paper. Serves the old codger right, ha! Cheat me at Go, will he?"

"Poor Ojichan," Konoka-san said with a wince.

Evangeline-san shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he's more than willing to do it. Especially since _you're_ the one in danger."

"Shit! I forgot! How could I forget!?"

"Ranma-san? What's wrong?" Evangeline-san of all people asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"My parents! They got petrified too. We need to hurry!"

"Relax! Breathe in, breathe out." Evangeline-san said, calming Ranma-san down. "You calm now? Good, good. Now long ago were they hit?"

"Less than an hour."

"It's been precisely 53 minutes. I've been keeping count." Haruna-san corrected as she and the others arrived, guided over by Chachamaru-san who had apparently gone off to fetch them at some point.

At hearing this, Evangeline-san turned to look at Chachamaru-san for some reason.

"According to my database, at this stage the petrification spell is still fresh enough that a raw burst of Konoe-san's healing magic should break it, Master, Ranma-sama."

Haruna-san collapsed to her knees in relief and Ranma-san ran over to hug her sister.

"Ranma-sama, huh?" Asuna-san asked teasingly. "Eva-chan, anything you want to tell us?"

"I-It's not what you think, you b-baka!" A blushing Evangeline-san replied quickly. Too quickly.

Thankfully for the vampire, her crush was too busy to notice her slip up.

"Let's go save our parents, please!" The redhead said looking at Konoka-san pleadingly.

"Of course!" The brunette said with a nod. "Fly me there Set-chan? It'll be faster."

The swordswoman looked hesitant but nodded. "Hai Ojou-sama."

And thus they rushed back to the Kansai HQ and Konoka-san saved everyone, allowing the harrowing night to end on a happy note.

Negi just wished he didn't have a niggling feeling that their happiness wouldn't last...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Phew~! That was a heck of a chapter to do. And yet we somehow finished it in record time.
> 
> Nameless: Two writing sessions aka six hours… We churned this beauty out in only six hours!? I still can't believe it…
> 
> The fights were interesting seeing that we deviate from canon and wow, the turns were exciting to try. We really wanted to show just how much a difference was between the characters and Fate (Because let's face it, he was a surprise end boss material type of character) and hopefully it'll make them grow stronger from it.
> 
> Nameless: Indeed. We wanted to make Fate seem even more of a monster compared to the characters than he was in canon. It's why we chose Negi for our POV during the fight. Unlike Ranma who would just power through everything and ignore the terrifying difference in power, Negi actually acknowledged it and was appropriately fearful.
> 
> The small touches here and there were a nice add on too, if you see them, you'll know what I mean. It's the small stuff at times that really builds a story and its characters.
> 
> Nameless: Small stuff like Konoka being very possessive over her Set-chan? Don't mess with the girl's girlfriend or else she'll give you all the diseases. XP Or maybe the fact that Eva-chan actually likes Ranma? I don't that's a surprise by this point. At least I hope not. We've been hinting at the ship for a while. Heck, we even outlined why Eva likes her a few chapters back. Look up the scene when Negi issues his formal challenge to Eva to see what I mean.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	19. Days of Rest

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Nineteen: Days of Rest**

**Beta:**

* * *

The next morning after the battle with Chigusa-san was concluded, Setsuna got ready to set off.

_Not only have I failed to protect Ojou-sama_ again _but I also showed her my wings in violation of our tribe's custom._ The tengu hanyou thought to herself bitterly. _There is no way to wash away this dual shame except by going into exile._

Casting one last longing look back down the halls of the Kansai Magic Association HQ, Setsuna said a final goodbye. _Farewell, Negi-sensei, Asuna-san, everyone. Goodbye, Eishun-sama. A-And…_

Unable to finish and with tears in her eyes, she turned back around and stepped out of the compound. She was just spreading her wings to fly away when a familiar blur slammed into her side and tackled her to the ground.

"O-Ojou-sama?" Setsuna asked, as she looked up at her beloved Ojou-sama who was pinning her in place with a pouty glare.

"Set-chan, you're not lea-"

"I _must_ Ojou-sama." Setsuna insisted. "I've failed to properly protect you and I showed my wings. By the customs of my tribe that means I need to leave."

"Setsuna, be quiet!" Ojou-sama ordered sternly.

She'd _never_ heard Ojou-sama address anyone like that before, much less her. She had always spoke to everyone with kindness, almost never raising her voice. It was such an out of character action from Ojou-sama that the shock alone had Setsuna complying immediately.

"You listen here, Set-chan! You're my best friend and I'm going to take responsibility for you getting so hurt. I'm going to make you my Ministra so I can always be there with you!" Ojou-sama told Setsuna, glaring at her cutely.

"Hai, Konoka-ojousama." Setsuna said with a blush.

"Kono-chan!" Ojou-sama sternly told her.

"H-Hai, Kono-chan!"

"Now we kiss!"

"W-Wha!?"

"For a Pactio, silly. Now kiss!"

"Now!?" Setsuna asked, her cheeks aflame.

"Yes, now pucker up your lips." Kono-chan demanded. "Or don't you want to form a Pactio with me?"

"Of course I do, but Ojo-Uhm!" Setsuna's protest was cut off as Kono-chan kissed her, smothering anything else the swordswoman might have to say for the next _minute_.

* * *

Sitting in the bushes nearby, Chamo smiled as the Pactio circle he had set up at Konoka-jouchan's request lit up as the girls kissed.

"That's actually kinda sweet," Ranma-ane said even as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "Not sure I want to be here seeing it though. Especially not so bloody early in the morning. Why did _I_ have to be the one to help you set this up anyways? I wanted to sleep in like everyone else damnit!"

"Hey, you're the only one with a night vision spell of all things. And we had no idea when Sword-Girl was going to bail out. Besides! Were you going to tell the Jouchan no? That pout's right deadly!"

Ranma-ane just pouted.

"Why the hell do you actually have to make sense for once?"

Before the ermine fairy could reply, a rustling of cloth had the two of them looking back towards the new couple as they _finally_ pulled away from their long first kiss. Sword-Girl was blushing so hard she looked like a neon sign and Konoka-jouchan was looking like the cat that ate the canary.

_Wow, I didn't know that she even had that kind of expression._ The fairy thought. _I guess love does bring out new sides to people. Sad though. I was hoping to maybe have her make a few Pactios but if she's this in love… Yeah, that plan's a bust._

"You will sit with me at breakfast won't you, Set-chan?" Konoka-jouchan asked her girlfriend in what was a nearly sickeningly sweet tone that promised nothing but punishment if she was denied.

_Was Konoka-jouchan always this terrifying?!_ _Gotta remember never to cross her… I don't even want to imagine what she'll do to me if I do._

"Um, uh, y-yes, Ojo-Kono-chan!" Sword-Girl squeaked out, her cheeks rosy.

A wolf whistle had everyone turning to the compound's entrance from which Ane-san stepped out.

"I dunno what you did Setsuna-san but whatever it was it must've been really bad to get Konoka to yell at you." The orangette said with a smirk. "Though it looks like everything's okay now. It is isn't it?"

"It is," Konoka-jouchan confirmed.

"Then I'm happy for you two." Ane-san said, offering the couple a thumbs up.

"A-Asuna-san?! What are you doing here?"

"Just heading out for my morning jog." She said, waving away the half-demon's embarrassed confusion. "Don't mind me."

Without waiting for a reply, the orangette started jogging down the Magic Association HQ's long flight of steps.

"Uh, what do we do now?" Sword-Girl asked, still looking out of it.

"We go have breakfast." Konoka-jouchan declared firmly. "Chamo-kun, Ranma-san you come too. You must be hungry."

"There's more people who saw us kiss!?"

"Is that a problem?" Konoka-jouchan asked with a devastating pout. "Are you ashamed to make a Pactio with me?"

"No, no, it's just-"

"I'd just shut up if I were you." Ranma-ane said with a yawn as they made their way out of their hiding spot to join the others. "That and just listen to your girlfriend. She's obviously the brains in the relationship and the one wearing the pants too."

Sword-Girl hung her head, trying to hide how red it was. Didn't work that well. The scene was so amusing that Chamo couldn't help it. He guffawed. It got him punted down the hill by Ranma-ane for it - doing something like that while riding the shoulder of a sleep deprived girl was a bad idea it seemed - but it was worth it. He'd managed to snap a photo of Sword-Girl looking all embarrassed. It was the perfect blackmail material.

* * *

"Ah! Kyoto! It's been so long since we took a vacation here!" Rintaro announced, stretching his arms over his head.

That Springfield boy had invited both Ranma and Haruna, with them allowed to tag along, out to visit his father's home in Kyoto, along with the tour of the city that the Dark Evangel had forced upon the poor lad. Their family had declined, hoping to spend some good quality time together instead.

So after a sumptuous breakfast during which that Konoe girl had forced her Ministra/bodyguard/girlfriend to apologize for "all the trouble she caused everyone", they'd left for their own tour of the city.

A tour which soon took them to the famous Cinema Town theme park.

"Ah, Galaxy Wars, it feels good living out my childhood again." He grinned as he stared down at his Jadee Knight Ezikel Cloudseeker costume. Complete with a hooded brown robe and toy laser sword strapped to his hip.

Now he was just waiting for his girls to come on out. He didn't know what they'd picked out but as long as his daughters were modestly dressed he was good, now his wife on the other hand… He was a touch eager to see what she had in mind after teasing him about her choice.

When the girls came out at last with Chinatsu dressed up in one of the extravagant dresses worn by Cloudseeker's wife, Queen Aridama, Rintaro couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face.

"We match," he told his wife while raking his eyes over her sexy, sexy figure made even more alluring by the elegant dress.

"Of course we do, husband."

"Mama, Touchan, no flirting in front of us." Haruna said, snapping her fingers to get their attention. "We don't want to see it."

"Of course, it's our job to make sure you never get this lovely dovey. It burns our retinas!"

Rintaro and Chinatsu shared a chuckle at their children's teasing. As he calmed, he finally took a good look at what his daughters were wearing. Haruna had chosen to dress up as the Cloudseekers' daughter, Princess Maia, in the character's iconic white dress and twin bunned hairstyle. Ranma meanwhile had chosen to dress in the functional pants and shirt of Ezikel's apprentice, Asha Lano.

"No love for Fae?" Rintaro asked with a chuckle. "She _is_ the main character of the newest movies."

All three of his girls shot him disgusted looks.

"Dress up like that Mary Sue!? Never!" Ranma said, voicing the ladies' collective opinion.

"Okay, okay." Rintaro said with a chuckle and his hands up in a placating gesture. "I get it. Why don't we go take our photos now, huh?"

"I think the girls are way ahead of you," Chinatsu said with a giggle as she pointed to Haruna pulling Ranma along as they headed to the photo booths.

"Well then let's catch up shall we?" Rintaro said, offering his wife his arm like the fabled Knight Ezikel would.

"Lead the way, my brave knight." Chinatsu said in character as well, though her attempt was marred slightly by another giggle, even as she slipped her arm into the crook of his own.

Thus arm in arm, they followed after their eager daughters.

* * *

A couple other sections of the park and dozens of photos later, the Saotome family ended up in the anime section where they were examining a selection of outfits that they could use to cosplay for even more photos.

"Girls, why not dress up as Sailor Senshi? It's always popular."

"Nah," Ranma said with a shake of her head while Haruna pretended to gag.

"What's wrong with Sailor Moon?" Chinatsu asked blinking in confusion. "Don't all girls like it?"

"Maybe if they don't think too much about it." Ranma said with a snort. "If you do, then it's hard not to hate it."

"Why's that?" Rintaro asked, curious.

"Well, for one every guy in the show is either useless or evil." Haruna said with a roll of her eyes. "Case in point: Tuxedo Kamen was so useless! He was just there as a love interest. Bor-ing~!"

"That and it's very misandrist." Ranma added, looking cross.

"I don't think it's quite _that_ bad." Rintaro said, sounding amused.

"Then Touchan how about you dress up as useless Tuxedo Kamen?"

"Uh. Okay, maybe you're right."

Chinatsu just giggled at her husband's expense. He gave her a small playful hurt expression in return.

"Haruna, want to try a plug suit?" Ranma asked, pulling one of those horrid skin tight suits from the rack and waving it at her sister.

Chinatsu was about to chide her when Rintaro beat her to it.

"Neither of you are wearing _that_ thing." He told their daughters with a stern frown. "It's nothing more than a device to oversexualize young teenagers."

"Oh, I know Touchan." Haruna said with a mischievous grin. "It's why Onee-sama was always so into it watching Asuka and Rei wear them on screen."

"Haruna~!" Ranma shouted, scandalized and red faced.

Chuckling, Chinatsu took the article of clothing - and she was being generous even calling it that - away from Ranma and hung it back up, before patting her petite daughter on the head.

"Well, it's not like your sexuality is a secret. You read almost as much yuri manga and doujin as you do magic grimoires."

"Okaasan~!" The redhead hissed in mortification as she covered her face with her hands.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Ranma." Rintaro said as he walked over and put a hand on their daughter's shoulder. "You like who you like. Otouchan and Okaasan will support you no matter what, okay?"

"I-I don't want to talk about this now." Ranma said, looking down at her stylish Mary Janes. "L-Let's just pick out outfits."

"Oh! I've found the perfect set for us to wear." Haruna declared as she called, causing the three of them to turn to look at her.

"What is it?" Rintaro asked warily.

"They have RDF pilot flight suits and uniforms from Macross!" Haruna declared proudly, holding up a nice green flight suit. "We can dress up as our own homebrew Valkyrie squadron!"

"Do they have an officers uniform like Hayase Misa wears? I want to wear that instead." Ranma asked.

"Let me check." Haruna declared as she sorted through the rack. "Yup! Here it is! It's in your size too Onee-sama!"

"Guess we know what we'll be wearing." Rintaro said with a smile. "Any objections, Chinatsu?"

"It's fine with me." Chinatsu replied with a grin.

"You chose to wear the officers uniform because you're afraid to look flat right, Onee-sama?" Haruna said with a grin.

Ranma blushed but refused to reply.

"You know we can just pad out a flight suit for you, right?"

"No, means no Haruna."

"Okay, Onee-sama. Whatever you say."

Chinatsu shot Rintaro an amused look at their girls' banter and received a grin in reply. The fact that they had truly wonderful children was shared between them without words.

* * *

"Take care, Ranma, Haruna." The Saotome father said hugging both his daughters before handing them over to their mother.

"Yes and be good." The older green haired woman said as she kissed both girls on the forehead in turn. "Do well in your classes too, alright?"

Rolling her eyes, Eva turned away and found herself assaulted by the sight of the Konoe girl and her father hugging each other tightly and exchanging quiet whispers.

Ugh, the sappy loving family thing was starting to make the shinso vampire gag, but she held back from commenting.

"Master, we need to board the train now." Chachamaru reminded her. "It is about to leave the station soon."

Eva nodded and stepped up towards the Saotomes.

"You two, it's time to go." She told her classmates. "So finish up the goodbyes."

"Thank you for the reminder, Eva-san." Ranma-san said with a small blush.

Behind her, her sister grinned knowingly. Even their parents seemed to be amused by things. What was so amusing was beyond the vampire though.

_Oh, you know alright. You just don't want to admit it._

Ignoring her traitorous thought, Eva turned around and stalked onto the train with the two sisters and Chachamaru following in her wake. As was her due.

They were barely onto the train when they were jumped by a pack of their classmates.

"Eva-chan, Chachamaru-chan, where did you two come from?"

"Ranma-san, Paru, were those your parents? What were they doing here?"

These and a dozen different similar questions came flying their way, much to Eva's mounting annoyance.

"Haruna, answer their questions!" Ranma-san shouted, pushing her sister towards the pack of wolves and grabbing hold of Eva's hand and pulling her away.

"Chachamaru, settle their curiosity." Eva shouted absently, too busy fighting her blush to give more detailed instructions.

_I can't remember being manhandled like this since… Yes, the Thousand Master. But I don't think even he was quite so daring._

"But-!"

"Now!"

Allowing herself to be dragged along, Eva saw them pass a surprised looking Konoe and her girltoy.

"You two don't want to go there." Ranma-san warned them as they sped past. "It's the 3-A inquisition back there."

Without waiting for a reply, the redhead dragged her into a cabin and locked the door behind them,

"You're very daring, you know that?" Eva said, raising an eyebrow. "Manhandling the Dark Evangel like that? Do you have a death wish?"

"You won't kill me."

"Oh, what makes you so sure about that?"

The youngling had the gall to roll her eyes at her. Her!

_I don't care if I think she's cute! No one gets away with rolling their eyes at me! Wait! I think she's cute!?_

"If you kill me or even hurt me," the source of Eva's sudden mental blue screen said ignorant of the reaction she'd caused. "The Dean will put you down."

_That's not the only reason. Not even the first one either, not even close._

Unwilling to admit it though, Eva just huffed and flopped onto the nearest seat.

"Psh, whatever. So what's on your mind, Saotome."

"Nothing really, just thought neither of us want to suffer the inquisition is all."

"And how long will we need to hide?" Eva snorted disdainfully.

She the Dark Evangel hiding from a bunch of teenage girls? Argh! How the mighty had fallen!

"Not long, I give them ten, fifteen minutes tops before they all collapse from exhaustion. Most everyone is at their limits. Either from fighting for their lives most of the trip or from enjoying themselves _way_ too much."

"Bah, kids these days lack stamina. A few games of cat and mouse with a demon-god and they're all tuckered out." Evangeline rolled her eyes, but still had a smile on her face, "Oh well, I guess they deserve a rest for surviving long enough for the cavalry to arrive."

"Why thank you for the compliment." The petite redhead snorted.

"Did I say it was a compliment?"

"I took it as one. Wasn't it?" The redhead asked, shooting Eva a cocky grin that reminded her of the easy confidence she'd only ever seen on people like the Thousand Master. A confidence that drew her in like a moth to a flame.

_Curse my attraction to redheads!_

"D-do whatever you want, brat." The vampire stammered out, looking away to hide her blush. She crossed her arms and legs to pretend at annoyance in the process.

"So you wanna, um, chat while we wait for the coast to be clear?" Ranma-san suggested. "It's not like we have much else to do."

"Hmph!" Eva smirked, flipping her blonde locks over her shoulder. "I guess we might as well, everyone else is a bore at the moment. So! I want to get into some of the spells I saw you using in that fight with the doll. I've never seen nor heard of them. You should be so basic in your repertoire, but it seems the little bird is flying now."

"You've never heard of Corrosion element spells?"

"Not personally and I'm a Master Mage. It's a little surprising to be honest."

The blonde refused to pout even as she made that admission, though from the smile on the girl's lips she failed a bit in that regard.

"I learned them from this." Ranma-san said as summoned a grimoire with a burst of magic not unlike the way a Ministra might summon their Artifact. "The Book of Origin."

_A grimoire which allows itself to be summoned like that? That's high tier stuff. How did a no name mage like Ranma-san get something like this?_

That the tome in question radiated unnaturalness to such a degree that Eva felt nauseous by its mere presence just added to the mystery and not in a good way.

"Gah!" Eva gasped sharply, warily eyeing the tome as she pinched her nose. "What the frig is that thing? It reeks of otherworldly power! Ugh, I think I almost threw up."

"It does?" The redhead said, looking at the tome in confusion. "I don't feel it and no one else has had that kind of reaction to it either."

"I'm a shinso vampire." Eva reminded the little mage, a dull look in her eyes. "My senses are especially sharp and that _thing_ is definitely triggering all of them. Worse then leeks and garlic combined I dare say."

Much to Eva's indignation, Ranma-san actually had to gall to shrug. "If you say so. All I know is that it's been invaluable to my magical learning."

_Calm down Eva! Don't let the book get to you. You don't want to alienate the girl before you even get to kiss her._ Eva thought to herself, before the direction of her thoughts fully registered and she growled in frustration at her thoughts taking on lives of their own. _Wait what!? I don't want to kiss some brat!_

"You disapprove?"

"No, no." Eva said hastily. A little too hastily. "It's just the book. It's setting me on edge."

"Let me put it away the-"

"Wait. As off putting as it is, its got me curious." Eva told her honestly. She was almost as curious about the book as she was about its owner. "How did you get it?"

"It appeared on the doorstep of my dorm one day."

"And you just kept it?" Eva stared at her like she's an idiot. Oh, and took the time to get a good look at her adorable body for fodder for the lonely nights. Ranma-san looked delicious in that brown pinafore dress and translucent blouse outfit she was wearing. She was supposed to wear her uniform, but with all the shenanigans that she'd been involved in she'd been given an exception to a number of things. The redhead had obviously exploited it to dress up and Eva appreciated it. A lot.

_She reminds of that village girl I had fun with a century or two back. I wonder… will Ranma-san's hymen blood taste as sweet?_

"I believe in never looking a gift horse in the mouth."

"If you say so." Eva said with a shake of her head, both in disapproval and more importantly to clear her head before she jumped the other girl. "Still, can I skim it?"

"You can try, but everyone who has so far has only found it blank. It's some kinda defensive measure I think."

"Please, I know a number of spells that can uncover things." Eva scoffed and taking the book cast the most powerful spell she could think of to unlock the book's secrets. With something so otherworldly there was no point pulling her punches.

"What in the..." Eva grumbled and snapped her fingers, a pair of refined glasses appearing on her nose as she looked closer at the pages. Yet there was nothing on the pieces of ancient parchment. "Okay, I give up. What's the password to this thing, I'm getting nothing?"

"Uh, there isn't one?"

"What the hell! I've uncovered some of the darkest and most disturbing tomes in existence! Reveal your secrets you rag!" The blonde lolita shook the book violently.

An ominous eye appeared on the pages and shot her with an energy beam from its pupil that turned her hair curly and neon pink.

The Dark Evangel took a long and deep breath, pulling her glasses off her nose and handed the book back into Ranma-san's hands.

"...Take it back before I burn it."

At the statement, a blast of intense heat was released by the book in a laser that vaporized Eva's uniform and charred her skin to a deep black. A moment later, Eva was healed to pristine condition, allbet naked in a public setting.

"Why you little-!" Eva snarled and snapped her fingers, causing a lacy black mini-dress to coil around her body and protect her modesty. She held back her words. She didn't want the book to hit her a third time.

Ranma-san looked both horrified and was a red faced mess as she squeaked, "S-Sorry, the book is kinda temperamental!"

_This is_ not _how I wanted you to see me naked for the first time damnit! Nice face though, I'm totally gonna have you looking at me like that again someday. Preferably someday soon._

"Uh, Eva-san why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Eva said with a smirk, adding just a hint of a predatory edge to it.

"Like you want to eat me? In more ways than one too?"

"You don't want to?"

Ranma-san gulped cutely at this and Eva's smirk grew more mischievous. Sadly, that's as far as her seduction went as Chachamaru chose that moment to force the locked door of their cabin open.

"Onee-sama, the coast is clear!" The redhead's sister cried as she followed Chachamaru into the room.

"Uh, sure?"

"Hmm… What's with that response? Did you two get up to something while we were busy fending off our overly curious classmates."

"No!" Ranma-san said hastily even as Eva pouted in disappointment.

"Almost," Eva said instead, causing Ranma-san to look at her in shock. "Ranma-san is so bold. I fear for my virtue~"

"T-That's not what happened at all! Eva-san!"

"Eva-san, Ranma-san," Konoe said as she and her girltoy strolled into the cabin too. "No hanky panky on the train. Save that for when you get back to campus. We don't want Negi-sensei to get in trouble if you two get caught."

"O-Kono-chan," The sword wielding half-demon said, correcting her term of address quickly at her mistress' sharp look. "I'm sure Eva-san was just teasing. Right?"

"Rich coming from you after what you and your little crow have probably done." Eva scoffed at Konoe's attempt to take the higher road.

While Sakurazaki stuttered like a dying engine, Konoe looked impish.

"A proper lady tells no tales~!"

Eva scoffed once more.

The rest of the ride back to accursed Mahora was an endless back and forth between Eva and Konoe as they teased each other, and by proxy their respective love interests, about how far they'd gotten. It was glorious! Not only was Konoe surprisingly sharp tongued, the looks of embarrassment the game managed to get Ranma-san to sport was fodder for her dreams in their own right.

_I'm going to have to do something nice for Konoe._ Eva thought as they finally arrived back in Mahora. _She's done me a great favor._

* * *

The train had barely pulled up to Mahora station when Yuna had unceremoniously picked up Negi-sensei and raced off.

"Yuna-san, slow down!" The child teacher shouted. "There's no rush. Since you called ahead, I'm sure Akashi-sensei is waiting for us."

"I know, but I'm just excited!" Yuna shot back as she searched the platform eagerly for her father. "It's not everyday you learn that your Dad has such an epic backstory you know?"

"It's not that epic," Dad said as he appeared out of nowhere.

For someone who looked like a textbook scholar, Dad sure knew how to be sneaky when he wanted to be.

"Hello Akashi-sensei," Negi-sensei greeted.

"Hello Negi-sensei." Dad returned with a grin. "Yuna, could you put Negi-sensei down?"

"Oops!" Yuna said, just realizing she was still lugging Negi-sensei around like a bag of potatoes.

"Sorry Sensei." The school basketball star said as she put her Magister down.

"It's not a problem, Yuna-san." Negi-sensei said as he patted down his clothes and Chamo-kun appeared out of nowhere to climb onto his usual spot on the boy's shoulders. "Why don't we get our luggage and then go find a private spot where we can talk."

"Luggage? Oh damn! I knew I was forgetting something."

"Yeah, you did." Asuna-san said as she tossed a bag to Negi-sensei and held one out for Yuna. "But we got it for you. Here."

"Thanks," Yuna said offering her fellow Ministra a grateful nod.

"Don't mention it, go talk with your father. Just make sure Negi gets home at a reasonable hour, alright?"

"Do not worry, Kagurazaka-san, I'll make sure of that." Dad said with a gracious smile.

Everyone ignored Negi-sensei as he pouted and whined that he wasn't a little kid, thus proving he totally was.

* * *

"So that's how Yuna-san became one of my Ministra." Negi said, finishing up the explanation of events that took place during the Kyoto trip. "I'm very sorry Akashi-sensei that I made a Pactio with her without asking your permission first."

The trio had retreated to the clearing in the campus' forests that had been set aside for magical training for some privacy. That it was fairly near the Mahora Junior High School dorms was a plus as it'd allowed them to drop off their luggage before they sat down for this conversation.

"Considering the situation, I can understand. So long as Yuna has no hard feelings, I'm okay as well." Akashi-sensei said reasonably. "So how is it Yuna, are you happy?"

"It was scary at times but fun too." Yuna-san said with an earnest look. "And helping save Konoka-san was great. I've never felt so accomplished. So yeah, I'm good. I have questions for you though, Dad."

"Ask away."

"How come you never told me about magic?"

Akashi-sensei sighed and looked away for a moment before replying.

"We, that is your mother and I, planned to tell you when you were old enough to understand that it wasn't just fun and games. But your mother went on a mission and didn't come back before we could. After that, well, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you."

Yuna-san crumpled into herself a little at that. "So that's how Mom really died, huh?"

"Yes." Akashi-sensei nodded, looking very tired. "I can tell you the details but I honestly would rather not. Suffice it to say she died saving people."

"I totally understand." Yuna-san said with a hasty nod of her own. "That's enough for me, for now. I need to process, you know."

"I can imagine." Akashi-sensei said with an understanding smile.

"But there's one thing I know already." Yuna-san said with a semblance of her usual energy. "I want to be like Mom. I want to be a great mage and save people like she did someday."

"I'll help you anyway I can, Yuna-san." Negi offered eagerly, before turning to address his student's father. "And I promise to try my best to keep her out of trouble."

"I'll hold you that, Negi-sensei." Akashi-sensei said with a serious look, before it cleared and he faced his daughter. "Enough serious talk. Yuna, mind showing me your Artifact?"

"Sure! Adeat!" Yuna-san said, summoning her magic gun. "Look all you want!"

* * *

"Man, can these guys not throw a party for something? I think even I'm getting worn out here." Asuna sighed with exasperation as she stretched her back.

Since most of the class were conked out on the train ride back, those in power -Mostly the troublemakers- felt everyone needed to have a party on their return to Mahora. To in their words, 'celebrate our glorious return to school'.

_Like real! They just wanted an excuse to party._ Asuna thought as she picked up her punch and took a sip. Looking around, she noticed Konoka coming over, Setsuna-san shadowing her.

_As if that girl would do anything less after Konoka gave her an earful on being close 'friends' again. Man, you think you know a roommate. Still, I'm happy for the two!_

"If it isn't Mahora Academy's new power couple. Congratz you two~" Asuna teased, a cheeky smile on her lips.

Konoka offered a sly smile, taking the comment in stride while Setsuna-san was much less composed, as per usual.

"Wha-?! Kagur-"

"Nope, Asuna!" The twintail chided with a finger wag, "We fought side by side, I think we're on a first name basis now."

"Um, ehem, Asuna-san! P-Please do not s-say such things. I'm not, that is, Ojou-er Kono-chan-!"

The rest of what Setsuna-san said was completely unintelligible as she broke down into the mess she usually did when talking about the topic of her relationship with Konoka, even as her girlfriend tittered into her hand demurely at the sight.

_Typical, Konoka always did have a twisted sense of humor at times._

"Speaking of couples, I wonder when Eva-san will confess to Ranma-san!" Konoka giggled, going into gossip mode as she pointed off to the other side of the room.

There, Eva-chan and Ranma-san were talking to the Library Trio about something that flew over Asuna's head. Ranma-san and Honya-chan looked really animated about it while the others were nodding here and there.

"See? Eva-san is all close to Ranma-san. We should help their love bloom!" Konoka said with little hearts in her eyes.

"Easy there, Cupid." Asuna said as she tried to rein her roommate in with a tug of her collar. "I get you're on a love high, but take a step back, silly."

"Boo! Asuna's no fun~"

"Why you-!" Asuna scowled playfully and reached to pinch the brunette, but she squeaked and hid behind Setsuna-san, who turned red at how _close_ Konoka clung to her.

Maybe she shouldn't continue, Setsuna-san looked ready to burst from all of Konoka's antics.

"Yo! We're here!" Yuna-san declared as she and Negi walked into the room.

"Oh, hey! Over here you two!" Asuna called them over and her Magister and fellow Ministra walked on over. "Everything work out okay with your dad, Yuna-san?"

"Yeah!" Yuna-san grinned in that devil-may-cry way she usually did. "He was super supportive and I think we got a bit closer because of it. So I'm stoked! He's going to help me catch up with the magical stuff."

Turning to Konoka teasingly, she added. "Konoka-san, you better watch out, I'm going to make you eat my dust."

"Ara, Yuna-san is fired up." Konoka smiled sweetly, but there was a fire in her eyes, "I already scolded Oji-sama for not telling me. So don't think you are the only one with a tutor in the wings~ I'm excited to see what I'll learn!"

"And both of you will do wonderfully," Negi cut in before the two made it a competition to learn magic faster. Tch, lucky mages.

_Maybe I could learn magic too?_ Asuna thought to herself, her brow knitted in thought. Before she could turn to ask the squirt what he thought on the topic, he was gone.

"Huh?!" She gaped and looked around frantically.

"Over here, Negi-sensei, I have a great blend of tea waiting just for you!"

"Oh, thank you very much, Iincho."

"Hey!" Asuna shouted and ran after them, "Iincho, don't just drag him away from a conversation like that! Negi! Back away from the Shotacon!"

"Shotacon?! How dare you, you impudent monkey girl!" Ayaka fired back in fury.

_Hehe, just another day for class 3-A!_ Asuna thought in amusement as she got into a heated argument with Ayaka.

It was good to be home!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Man, this was a blast chapter. Aftermath chapters just seem to be where some really good parts come in. Also, couple teasing! A blast. The family moments were cute as well, but honestly the little ships taking sail really light up this chapter I think.
> 
> Nameless: You and your shipping. [Exasperated shake of head] Then again, you're right that they're the highlights of this chapter.
> 
> Hey, you know my slogan: I can ship anything! But man, Eva is so thirsty I wonder if Nagi suppressed not only her powers but her libido because yow! She's hungry for redheads! Poor Ranma.
> 
> Nameless: She's just hungry for affection in general. Now since we're talking about Eva, let me preempt calls of how OOC she is. Yes, we know. This is a deliberate move on our part. Besides, for someone stuck under the curse like she is, it's natural to be thirsty. That she would genuinely be attracted to Ranma because of her superficial resemblance to the Thousand Master and her own impressive qualities even if that were not the case just makes it plausible. As for Eva being bisexual in this verse… When you're as old as her, it's impossible to think she never experimented with both sides of the aisle.
> 
> And everything in-between! XD
> 
> Nameless: Before we sign off, just want to add that the bashing of Disney Star Wars, Sailor Moon and Eva we did in the Cinema Town scenes are meant to be lighthearted critiques. There was no malicious intent there. It wasn't even very heated. You want to see a serious roasting, there's plenty out there. In contrast, what we did was mild as hell.
> 
> Yes, remember the OG Star Wars trilogy and all hail the mini-skirts of the Senshi! While we have some opinions, we can poke fun at the things we like too.
> 
> Nameless: Not that I like the Star Wars Sequel trilogy at all. To be honest, it's crap. Hence, why we poked fun at it. I still mostly love the rest of the universe though. Some parts like Resistance though… Ugh!
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	20. Apprenticeships, Kung-Fu and Denial, Oh My!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty: Apprenticeships, Kung-Fu and Denial, Oh My!**

**Beta:**

* * *

The morning after 3-A's return from Kyoto, Negi had woken up early to visit Evangeline-san so he could ask her something important. However, as he arrived outside the cottage of Mahora's resident vampire, he found that he wasn't the only one planning on calling on her this morning for Ranma-san was there as well staring at him warily even as he shot her a curious look in return.

"What are you doing here?" Both of them asked at the same time.

Negi would have chuckled at that if not for the narrowed eye look that Ranma-san shot him.

"You go first, Sensei."

"Huh? Oh sure?" Negi said easily enough. "After the Kyoto trip I realised how weak I was and how strong Evangeline-san is, so I, um, decided to come ask her if she was willing to train me."

"What a coincidence," Ranma-san said coldly, her stare transiting into a full on glare. "That's why I'm here to do too for pretty much the same reasons."

"What? Really? Isn't that-" Negi began enthusiastically before cutting himself off as Ranma's look just got colder and colder. "Is there a problem Ranma-san?"

"How many apprentices do you think Eva-san is willing to take on, Negi-sensei?"

The Welshman flinched at that. _I hadn't considered that. If we both ask Evangeline-san to be our Master then there's a good chance that at least one of us will get rejected today!_

"I-I'm sure it'll be fine and she'll take on both of us?" Negi said hopefully, even as a selfish part of his mind hoped that if one of them was cast aside that it wouldn't be him.

It was perhaps unbecoming of him as a teacher, but he was only human.

"How naively optimistic can you get, you little-"

Ranma-san's snarling, angry words were cut off by the sound of a loud admonishing clap from the deck of Evangeline-san's cottage, causing both Negi and the redhead to spin to face its source.

"Tea is ready." Chachamaru-san said rather sternly from the porch, she relaxed a little though when she had their attention. "Ranma-sama, Master is expecting you."

Ranma-san shot Negi a smug look at that and he couldn't help but feel a touch crestfallen.

"We weren't expecting you, Negi-sensei, but there's more than enough snacks and I've laid out a place for you already." Chachamaru-san said, ignoring the exchange. "So, both of you, please do come in."

* * *

"So you two _both_ want to be my apprentices?" Evangeline huffed, twirling a blonde lock around one of her pale fingers. "Well, I suppose I can take Ranma-san."

"Yes!" The cute little redhead cheered while the boya looked dejected.

"Mainly this is because that Book of Origin of yours intrigues me so. If I cannot read it myself, having a student read it for me by proxy is just as good." Evangeline openly admitted and gained a wicked evil smile that was ever so dastardly.

"But in exchange I want you to swear fealty to me and kiss my feet." Evangeline said with a teasing grin. She didn't actually expect that of her new apprentice but if she was willing to do it, well… Evangeline wasn't going to object.

What she hadn't expected though was the way Ranma-san reacted to her joke. One minute the girl was smiling and radiating smugness and the next the light in her eyes seemed to instantly be snuffed out and she began shivering. Worse, her previously normal breathing suddenly became labored and she soon began outright hyperventilating.

_She's having a panic attack?! What the hell did I say?_ Evangeline thought, frozen in shock as the girl she had a crush on was coming undone, and not in a good way, because of something she said.

"I was joking! Just joking!" She informed the girl, waving her arms frantically.

"See Ranma-san, Evangeline-san was just joking." The boya said reaching out to pat the panicking girl comfortingly, only to have Ranma-san scuttle away from him on the couch, almost falling off in the process.

"D-Don't touch me! Don't. I'll be good. The best! So please don't touch me!" The girl said fearfully. Her eyes were clouded though and whatever she was seeing, Evangeline doubted it was their teacher.

"Wha-?"

"Be quiet!" Evangeline commanded the idiot boy with a red eyed glare while she moved to physically block Ranma-san's view of him.

"Ranma-san," she said in a soft, comforting voice. "Whoever you're seeing he's not here."

"He's not?" The redhead asked as she curled herself into a fetal position.

"No. Whoever hurt you isn't here." Evangeline told her with a decisive nod. "If he was I would kill him."

The stupid boy behind her gasped and probably would have said something that would have ruined everything but thankfully Chachamaru had the good sense to cover his mouth before he could get a word out.

"You're sure?" Her crush said in a painfully weak whimper.

And damned she wasn't even denying it to herself anymore was she?

_Now's not the time, Evangeline! Get your act together!_

"Absolutely." She reassured the traumatized girl. "But can I ask a few questions?"

"Okay?" The other girl said uncertainly before seemingly recovering some of her usual confidence. "Yeah, I guess it's okay."

"This person who hurt you. It was a man, right?"

Ranma just nodded, tears finally breaking free of the tight hold she was keeping on them and spilling from her beautiful blue eyes.

"And he forced you to do things? Demeaning things like I joked about just now?"

The girl nodded slowly, her fear and anxiety palpable in the air as her tears now freely flowed as twin rivers down her cheeks.

The boya gasped in horror loud enough to make it through Chachamaru's gag, but Evangeline and Ranma-san ignored him.

Taking a breath, the blonde said, "I'm sorry."

It tasted like ash in her mouth. She hated apologizing but this situation called for it.

"I didn't know. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to do that."

The cute little redhead looked at her with wary eyes that twinged her stilled heart but eventually nodded.

"O-Okay, I accept your apology, Eva-san." Ranma-san said while taking a few deep calming breaths.

Once Ranma-san calmed herself with her admittedly cute exercises, Evangeline spoke. "But I cannot accept an apprentice for nothing."

The redhead started at that and the smitten vampire had to admit her saddened face was just as cute!

"So instead you will have to wear my colors!"

Ranma looked at her and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "And start wearing gothic lolita too?"

"Who do you think popularized the trend in this town?" Evangeline nodded with a pleased grin. If the girl was back to asking questions, which she knew she _always_ had about everything, then she was probably okay.

_Still have to be careful though. Don't want to trigger her again._ Evangeline thought warily, before another thought came to her unbidden. _She'll look scrumptious all dressed up like that! I can't wait to see it!_

_Ugh! Stupid subconcsious! Can you stop being a pervert for ten seconds? We have a traumatized girl to deal with here._

Evangeline might have just imagined it but she could've sworn she felt her own id blow a mental raspberry at her.

"So it'll be like our uniform?"

"I suppose." Evangeline mused as a thoughtful look spread across her face that slowly transitioned into a smirk. "Just imagine the boya in a brolita getup! It'll be wonderfully embarrassing!"

Negi tried to protest if the muffled cries from behind her were anything to go by but they both just ignored him.

"Why not put him into a dress then? He's cute enough to pull it off." Ranma-san said, her eyes alight with mischief.

_Joking around already? She recovers fast. Then again that's what I lo- I mean like! That's what I like about her!_

"Oh! I like how you think! Let's do it!" Evangeline said with overplayed enthusiasm to cover for the hastily suppressed blush that threatened to spread over her face at the previous thought.

Giggling madly, both girls turned to the boya to find him shaking like a leaf. Hehe, so worth it.

"Chachamaru, let him talk." Evangeline ordered her gynoid partner.

"Yes, Master." The robot girl said as she complied and moved to change out their by now cold tea with warm refills.

"Y-You're not really gonna make me dress up are you Master?" The boy mage said still shivering slightly.

"I've got an outfit that I think he can wear if you want Shishou." Ranma-san said, shooting the boy a predatory look. She was even licking her lips slightly.

_Someone is feeling vindictive. Getting back at the boya for contributing to her freak out earlier? Or maybe just out of the bad blood I've heard they have going on? Both?_

"Hush, Ranma." Evangeline said, forgoing the cumbersome use of Japanese honorifics. The girl was her apprentice now. She'd call her what she liked.

_And the implied closeness with your crush has nothing to do with it at all, Evangeline. Nothing at all._ Her traitorous subconscious sent a thought shooting to the forefront of her mind that she studiously ignored.

"Though why do you even have a brolita outfit?"

Ranma just shrugged. "I collect fashionable clothes. Besides I can pull it off if I want."

Evangeline raked Ranma's body critically for a moment before nodding. "That's true."

"Master? I'm still, um, here?"

_So he is._ Evangeline realized with a frown. _But I want him gone! I have to talk with Ranma about what happened earlier. Yet, brushing him off won't work either. He'll just come back and bug me later. Is there anyway to get him out of my hair, at least for a good long while?_

She pondered this for a second. An eternity for a genius like her and an almost malicious grin spread across her face as she came up with the perfect idea.

"Calling me Master already? How presumptuous!" Evangeline huffed at the boya, playing up the part she needed for her little plan.

"E-Eh?!"

Evangeline squinted her eyes at the boy. "I've heard of your little obsession with exorcism magic. I kept an eye on you, while you aren't teaching the rest of those chattering hyenas in class you've been viciously studying it. Why would I want to take on a student whose focus as a mage is so diametrically opposed to my own?"

She had been wary of his study of it. While the blonde could tank some of the worst exorcism spells or rituals around, there were those that could very well harm or even worse seal her into something far worse than some middle school.

"But I need to master exorcism magic!" Negi insisted. "I need it to break the Mage's possession of Fa-"

"Stop!" The vampire interrupted him. "I am uncomfortable working with someone willing to work with such dangerous magic."

"...That's very hypocritical of you." The shrewish boy stated with a pointed look.

"Exorcism magic can _kill_ Shishou." Ranma pointed out with a glare at the boy. "Or did you forget she's a vampire? I think she's justified in being wary of someone obsessed with its study, whatever reasons they might have."

Evangeline's heart skipped a beat at Ranma rushing to her defense like that. It was so romantic!

_What!? Romantic!? No! It was considerate. To her master. Yes, to her master… Master...Mm. No stop that!_

"But Shishou," Ranma said with an annoyed huff. "He _does_ have a point. My Corrosion element magic and the other stuff I learned from the Book of Origins is dangerous too."

Evangeline shot her a look.

"Just pointing it out," Ranma said with a pout.

Clearly she liked having to side against Evangeline about as much as the vampire did, which was not at all. Yet for the sake of the objective truth she was doing so anyways.

"I guess you two are right this time." The vampire admitted grudgingly even as she searched desperately for another excuse to shoo the boy away. She was looking around the room for inspiration and spotted Chachamaru who was standing nearby watching over the proceedings.

_That gives me an idea!_

"Well, you're weak and I detest weakness. You have more potential as a mage than Ranma, are a fully trained mage and yet you're _weaker_ than her!" Evangeline told the boy feigning disinterest in him by taking a sip from her cup of tea. It was a little cold from sitting out too long but still passable which she was thankful for since Ranma had imitated her. She'd be mortally embarrassed if she served the girl substandard tea the first time she visited.

She was so concerned about the matter she didn't even notice how Ranma flushed a little at her praise.

"But I beat you-"

"When I was holding back." Evangeline shot back with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If I wasn't I doubt you'd even be able to land a hit on Chachamaru much less myself. Besides, it was Kagurazaka that took me out that time."

The reminder had her groin pulsing in remembered pain and it took more effort than Evangeline would have liked to stop herself from wincing. She would _not_ look bad in front of Ranma. She refused!

"But I'll tell you what," the vampire continued, ignoring her discomfort. "I'll give you a chance to prove yourself otherwise. Spar with Chachamaru one on one in say, oh a week's time? That should be enough time to get strong enough I'd reckon. Yes, spar with her in a week's time and if you can land _one_ blow on her in the fight, then I'll take you on."

"I'll only need one blow?" Negi asked, brimming with confidence. "I can do that!"

"Shishou? Can I offer him a suggestion?"

"Go ahead," Evangeline agreed, nodding at Ranma.

"Negi-sensei, go look up Kū Fei-san to get some training in martial arts. You'll need it."

"What!? Why?"

"I might have abandoned being a martial artist," Ranma told the boy with a pained frown. "But I can still appreciate Kū Fei-san's skills. If anyone in Mahora can train you in such a short time to accomplish the _difficult_ task Shishou has set for you, it's her."

"And why are you recommending he get _another_ teacher when he's applying to become my apprentice? Aren't I good enough?" Evangeline asked, annoyed.

Ranma looked at the vampire with exasperation. "Shishou don't be unreasonable. You've set him an almost impossible task. Of course, he'd need a teacher to help him accomplish it."

"Yes, he _is_ squishy." Evangeline noted consideringly. "Fine! Let's see what he can do with a little Kung Fu."

"Thank you, Master." Negi offered with a sincere bow.

"You aren't my student yet! Hmph!"

"As for you, Ranma, there's a story why you aren't a martial artist anymore isn't there?"

"Yes, but-" Ranma hesitated, eyeing Negi.

_So it has something to do with that man who hurt her._

"Get lost boya." Evangeline said turning to shoot the Welshman a red eyed glare. "No men are allowed for this."

"But-"

"Negi-sensei, please leave." Ranma said in a voice that was too close to the broken tone she used during her panic attack for Evangeline's liking. "I-I don't want you to hear this. This is private."

"Okay." The boya said as he stood, while shooting Ranma a deeply worried look that had the girl looking away. In shame? No, she was stronger than that, surely. A desire not to be pitied, Evangeline reasoned. She'd feel the same if in a similar situation.

"I'll walk you to your dorm, Negi-sensei." Chachamaru said and Ranma shot her a look of surprise.

"This sharing is between Master and you, Ranma-sama. I will not intrude." The gynoid servant said offering Ranma a bow before escorting the concerned looking child teacher out.

The two remaining girls waited in silence for a long moment, both of them passing the time by nervously drinking their tea and nibbling on the snacks laid out to accompany it, before Evangeline turned to look at Ranma.

"They're gone." She reassured the redhead. "We're alone."

Ranma nodded and took a deep, fortifying breath before she began to tell her tale.

"Let me just start by saying I wasn't sexually abused." Ranma said with a haunted look that sapped any sense of relief Evangeline might've felt at the revelation. "But I was in practically every other way. It all started when my sperm donor, Genma, took me from the psychopath that was my mother for what he claimed was a training trip. I was just a toddler then, not more than two years old. And that was when my hell began-"

* * *

Dressed up in matching gothic lolita outfits picked by Shishou herself, ones with plenty of petticoats, frills and bows, Ranma and her vampire master walked arm in arm to the site of the Midnight Showdown between Chachamaru-san and Negi-sensei. Yes, the match's name was capitalized even in her mind. She could thank Asakura-san for coining the name and emphasizing that point until it had drilled itself into her subconscious with her nattering about it everyday the past week.

It was annoying enough that she shot the wannabe journalist a glare as her fellow redhead was setting up her recording equipment between a pair of the dozens or so Shield Maidens that Haruna had conjured in a circle to form a makeshift ring.

"Onee-sama! You're here!" Haruna said in lieu of greeting as she raced over and grabbed her by her free arm. "Come and sit with me on my improved Flying Manta Ray! It'll give you a great view of the match!"

"Haruna, aren't you being too conspicuous in your use of magic?" Ranma grumbled as she gestured to first the Shield Maidens and the landed Flying Manta. "We might be in the warded area of campus but we still shouldn't go overboard."

Shishou snorted from next to her but said nothing, which Ranma was grateful for. She was trying to make a point here to her reckless little sister, she didn't need nitpicking even if it was valid, undermining it.

"Eva-san are you stopping me from dragging Onee-sama away?" Haruna asked the vampire, totally ignoring Ranma's scolding.

"Not at all." The vampire said, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause usually it's child's play to pick her up or drag her around."

Shishou frowned and her eyes narrowed.

_She's getting angry on my behalf._ Part of Ranma cooed, but thankfully the more rational part was in charge and hastily moved to stop the situation from escalating.

"It's because your usual monstrous strength is a result of your unconscious use of your magical power, Haruna. Now that you're actively using that power to create and maintain your golems, of course you wouldn't have the power to fuel your super strength."

"Huh? That makes sense." Haruna said, blinking in surprise as she considered the matter. "When did you figure this out, Onee-sama?"

"Just now?" Ranma replied with a shrug. She pointedly did not add that she'd done so as a desperate attempt to stop her overprotective Shishou from mauling her sister for manhandling her over the years.

"Ranma-san, how did you figure it out with just one look?" Nodoka-san asked curiously.

"I only need one look," Ranma said with a shrug.

That earned her looks that made it seem like they thought she was crazy.

_They're the weird ones!_ She thought defensively, her grip on Shishou's arm tightening slightly in distress as the looks rattled her nerves. _It's not that hard to figure it out._

The vampire shot her a concerned look for a brief second before she let loose a short but nevertheless maniacal sounding laugh.

"And _that's_ why I accepted Ranma as my apprentice." The Dark Evangel crowed as she pulled the redhead closer to her side and using her magical flight cloak she was wearing to fly them both up to set on the top of a wall overlooking the wouldbe arena.

They ended up all but snuggling on their spot and were met with grins from everyone, even Kū Fei who probably hadn't known about them before now. Though preoccupied with each other, neither of them noticed at all.

"I thought you said it's because of her Book of-" Haruna tried to correct after a moment of everyone's silent teasing of the couple in denial achieved nothing.

"Shut up! _I_ get to decide my own reasons and they're subject to change when I feel like it."

The others exchanged exasperated sighs at Shishou's tsundere behavior, but Ranma just smiled indulgently.

"Enough chit chat!" Shishou decreed angrily as she eyed everyone's reaction. "Let's get this match started already."

"Yes Master," Chachamaru-san said as she took an unhurried step towards Negi. Clearly the gynoid felt sure in her superiority.

"Very well." Negi-sensei said from across the ring as he took a basic quánfǎ stance he had learned from Kū Fei.

Chachamaru-san was unfazed by his show of skill and raised her arm towards Negi's head, her hand in a position as if she sought to flick his forehead. It was a demeaning move, one that spoke of how little she thought of him as an opponent. Or maybe it was her being sympathetic and she was going easy on him, her expressionless gynoid face made it hard to tell.

Either way, Negi-sensei easily ducked under the flick and using her lax guard attempted to use both his hands to strike at her midsection at the same time. The gynoid's robotic reflexes were up to the task however and with a short burn from her thrusters she managed to pull away from him before he made contact.

Undeterred, Negi-sensei smoothly switched into a spinning hook kick that due to his short height and the robot girl hovering in midair ended up aimed towards her groin instead of the head. If it had hit, it would have raised some rather pointed questions about what Negi-sensei was doing with his students but thankfully he missed as Chachamaru-san just jetted out of his reach.

Still not giving up, Negi-sensei quickly got his footing back and ran towards his opponent before pushing off the ground in a flying kick.

"Is he an idiot?" Shishou said with a face palm as Chachamaru-san just used her thrusters to propel herself to the side of Negi's kick.

"Not quite." Ranma said, pointing at the barely there chains of wind that were wrapping around the gynoid with each missed attack Negi-sensei made. "He's distracting her."

"Are those variants of the _Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae_ (Magic Arrow, Wind series) bindings? I didn't know he could do that."

"He is a magical genius in his own right, Eva-shishou." Ranma pointed out.

"Hmph. I wouldn't go that far." The vampire said stubbornly. "Those bindings are too weak anyways. And a toy wand? How blasé."

"Which is why I'm sure he's saving them for later." Ranma concluded. "Wonder what he has in mind."

" _Sagitta Magica, Una Lucis._ (Magic Arrow, One Light)" Negi-sensei cast with the expandable toy wand that he'd slipped out of his sleeve. With a thrust of his wand, he sent a bolt of light at Chachamaru-san, who dodged in time. But not without getting herself entangled in even more of the ethereal looking wind chains.

The gynoid closed in and in a move that would have left a viper green with envy, grabbed the wand and pulled it out of Negi's hand before she snapped it like a twig.

"Ha! That's what he gets for bringing a toy to a fight." Shishou sniggered.

She had to change her tune however when Negi-sensei used Chachamaru-san's close proximity to perform a snap kick that just barely missed grazing her nose as she quickly jetted back.

"He almost got her that time." Ranma noted with a grin. "He's getting close."

"Close isn't a hit, he'll need to-"

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis!_ (Magic Arrow, Lightning Series)" Negi-sensei cast while Shishou was still mid-sentence, sending a brace of lightning arrows at Chachamaru-san who jinked around them with her thrusters.

"Did he-? Where does he keep getting those baby wands?" The Dark Evangel asked with a frown as Negi-sensei used his opponent's distraction with the lightning to close and start attempting to hit her with a flurry of martial arts moves that Chachamaru narrowly avoided.

"No wand this time, Shishou." Ranma said as she looked closely at the boy's tightly closed fist. "I think he's using that ring as a focus."

"Where the hell did he get one of those?!"

"I did hear he was nosing around the magical market recently."

"...Shit. I forgot we had that."

"Shishou, no offense, but you've been living in Mahora for how long?"

"Hush, you!" The vampire said slapping Ranma's thigh lightly, causing her to cheeks to glow a light pink at the contact. "I'm forgetful alright. You try keeping everything straight after a hundred years then you can talk."

Ranma rolled her eyes and rubbed her thigh lightly. "Whatever you say, Shishou."

* * *

Asuna was mystified. There was an epic demonstration of magic and martial arts on display right in front of them, but was that the focus of all her friends' attention? No!

"I wonder when those two will kiss," Konoka said looking not at the fight but at Ranma-san and Eva-chan with sparkling eyes. "They're already so lovey dovey!"

"Oujo- I mean, Kono-chan. Please stop watching them like a tween movie."

"Never. I will have my OTP." Konoka said with stars in her eyes.

Fortunately for the peanut gallery, Ranma-san and Eva-chan were too engrossed with Negi's fight to pay them attention. Especially since Negi had just missed hitting Chachamaru-san by a hair's breadth with a _Iaculatio Fulgoris_ (Lightning Spear Throw) conjured lightning javelin.

"Huh, I guess he's been upping his studies." Ranma-san noted loudly enough for even Asuna to hear.

"Heh, good on him." Eva-chan smirked as she leaned in to get a closer look of the fight and almost fell off her perch on the wall but Ranma-san caught her and pulled her into her side, before wrapping an arm firmly around the vampire's waist to prevent a repeat.

"Haruna-san is Ranchan and Evangeline-san really dating?" Ukyo-san asked from where she was sitting with Paru-chan atop the greenette's golem.

"Yeah, but neither of them even notices the fact." Paru-chan said with an exasperated sigh. "It's such a perfect match for the stereotypical clueless couple trope that it's like we're in a harem manga."

"Sounds like Ranchan." Ukyo-san opined. "She's oblivious to her real feelings a lot of the time."

"Tell me about it." Paru-chan said with a groan.

"Hey, guys, the fight." Asuna glared at the gossiping gossips. "We're here to support Negi, remember?"

At least Asakura-san and Yuna-san were paying attention, but the others? They were treating Ranma-san and Eva-chan like they were some kind of reality tv show.

"Yes, but Ranma and Eva dating, aru?" Kū Fei-san, of all people, asked curiously.

"Totally," Chamo replied.

"You guys are terrible," Asuna said with a face palm. "I hope Eva-chan hears you and punishes the lot of you."

There was little chance of that. The couple were both too busy snuggling, they were practically fused at the hip with how close they were, and enjoying Negi's fight too much to bother with the gossips. Not that Asuna could blame them. The fight _was_ exciting.

Negi's javelin might have missed (and shocked one of Paru's Shield Maidens out of existence when it moved to block it from shooting off to gods knows where) but that didn't faze the boy mage at all and he surged close to Chachamaru-san to attempt to engage her in fisticuffs. She jinked and dodged out of the way of every move he made, but he was relentless.

"And you're mine!" Negi exclaimed suddenly as hundreds of wind chains appeared seemingly out of nowhere around Chachamaru-san's body and snapped taut, binding her and holding her in place.

Having played what Asuna could only imagine was his trump card, Negi raced towards Chachamaru-san at his rather impressive top speed with his fist cocked back. The moment he was within range, he threw a textbook perfect Kenpō punch. Just as the gynoid broke out of the layered chains, Negi's fist connected with her chest with some force. This caused the gynoid's right boob to compress just like a normal girl's would, which quite surprised Asuna considering Chachamaru-san's robotic nature. That was the first thought that she had, the second was one of sympathy as she clutched her own right breast and imagined the agony she must've felt if she'd received a punch like that.

"It why must wear good bra." Kū Fei-san said with her own sympathetic hiss. "Boob punch. Never fun."

Chachamaru-san definitely agreed as she clutched her chest with a grimace of pain on her face and staggered back from the blow.

"I did it!" Negi crowed. "I scored a hit!"

"Oh, Negi-sensei! Why hit there?" Honya-chan said with a dismayed look on her face as she crossed her arms over her bust defensively.

The only girls who weren't doing something similar were Ranma-san and Eva-chan, who just looked down at their own flat chests with frowns before seemingly noticing their shared misery and pulled each other into a hug.

_Can they be any more sickeningly sweet with each other?_

"Huh?" Negi said unaware of the response he'd garnered from the girls, spun to look at the bibliophile. "I don't get it. D-Did I do something wrong."

With his guard completely down, he failed to notice as Chachamaru-san walked up behind him and smacked him on the back of his head hard enough to have him eating dirt.

"Negi-sensei, please don't hit a woman there in the future if you can help it." The gynoid told him even as she helped him up. "We're sensitive there."

"Oh! I, um, very sorry!" Negi said hastily, his eyes widening as he realized what she meant. He started to bow repeatedly in apology.

"That aside, congratulations on your victory." The gynoid said, offering him a respectful bow.

One he hastily returned.

"Good. Good." Kū Fei-san said with a nod while stroking a fake beard she got from somewhere. "Mutual respect."

"I won!" Negi cheered again as they finished exchanging bows. "And I did it without getting more than a chipped tooth!"

All the girls made some display of exasperation at that even as Eva-chan summed up their collective thought on the matter. "Boys."

"Negi-kun, come over here. I'll fix that right up." Konoka said while pulling out a toy wand of her own.

"Seriously, is there a bargain sale on those things?" Eva-chan muttered with an eye twitch as she and Ranma-san hopped down from their couples' perch.

"Maybe a clearance sale?" The redhead suggested. "They have those pretty often. They have to make space for new stock and all that."

"They do?" Eva-chan asked, perking up with interest. "Anything good? I'm in the market for some cheap potions or ingredients to make some. The boya wiped me out during the blackout."

"We can go shopping soon to check?" Ranma-san suggested shyly, toeing her foot in the ground.

"Set the date and I'll be there."

_How can they_ not _realize they're dating!?_ Asuna thought as she just looked at the two oblivious fools with her mouth hanging open.

"Denial is powerful with those two, Ane-san." Chamo said sagely, 'smoking' one of his chocolate cigarettes.

"Ano, Master, sorry to interrupt your date planning."

_Even Negi can see it!_

"But can I check if I passed?" The Welsh boy asked warily, quailing a little as Ranma-san and Eva-chan both glared at him.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Your sexual harassment punch passed." Eva-chan scathingly noted, a dirty frown on her face. "You can start by running around the campus one hundred times. Your stamina could use the work out."

"My what-?! And how many?! I-I have papers to mark Master!"

"I'll explain it to you later, Negi." Asuna said with a sigh. As uncomfortable as she would be teaching him Sex Ed, better her than any of the others. She shuddered to think what the others might teach him.

"Too bad," Eva-chan said vindictively. "That'll teach you to not disturb me when I make arrangements for outings."

"That's why I'm being punished? But-"

"Just run." Ranma said materializing her crossbow.

"Do it, Sensei." Paru-chan said with a sharp intake of air. "Onee-sama is serious. She has the crossbow out."

Negi looked like a deer caught in the highlights of an oncoming semi-trailer truck for a moment before a magical arrow exploding next to him made him realize they were serious and he raced off.

_Smart boy._ Asuna thought as he sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him. _Maybe he'll learn not to mess up a pair of lovestruck girls as they plan their first date._

* * *

"Shishou, I know why Negi-sensei and I are here but what about the others?" Ranma asked, gesturing to Konoka-san, Setsuna- san, Asuna-san, Haruna, and Nodoka-san who set across from her in the vampire's living room.

"Blame it on Konoe's father." Shishou said with a shrug. "Before we left Kyoto, he asked me to take charge of her magical education."

"Wow! That's great news! It means three of us will all be Master's apprentices!"

"And you're telling us now?" Ranma said with a frown in contrast to Negi-sensei's enthusiasm.

"I forgot okay," Shishou said with a blush. "And Chachamaru just reminded me this morning when I sent her to summon my apprentices."

"It did not come up before now." The gynoid replied stoically.

"It isn't a problem is it?" Konoka-san with the same devastating pout that she used to cow her girlfriend into submission all the time.

Ranma had seen it plenty enough to develop an immunity to its effects so she just shrugged. "So long as my own training isn't affected I won't mind."

"It'll be fine." Shishou assured her. "Three students is nothing I can't handle. I am the great Dark Evangel after all! Ohohoho!"

Ranma smiled in fond exasperation at the vampire's gloating laugh.

"Well, you'll have help won't you?" Asuna-san said with a roll of her eyes. "I mean Negi is also training with Kū Fei-san and Konoka is doubling up with the school's magical healers isn't she?"

"Don't remind me," Shishou said deflating from her high, an air of gloom about her. "Just like with the boya I have to share Konoe too. Argh! Why do you have to specialize in the one school of magic that I know squat about?"

"Even though I'll need to split my time, I'll do my best Shishou." Konoka-san reassured the vampire. "I want to be as strong as I can to protect Set-chan."

"Kono-chan!" The hanyou cried out with a blush. "It's my job to protect _you_!"

"Shush, Set-chan." Konoka-san said patting the swordswoman's head. "We'll protect each other."

"You two have an interesting relationship, you know that?" Asuna-san said with a visible sweatdrop.

Ranma, Haruna, Nodoka-san and Yuna-san all made various signs of agreement with the orangette's observation. Leaving only Negi-sensei to look on in confusion while Chamo, who had been riding on his shoulder, facepalmed in exasperation at the boy's naivety.

Shishou expertly ignored the byplay of the cute couple as she produced a pair of glasses from her pocket and perched them on her nose. It made her look scholarly and really, really cute.

"Now! Since all of you are here, let's start with my first lesson. The types of role mages specialize in. There are many different specific roles when it comes to mages but broadly speaking they can be simplified into two categories!" She proclaimed and slapped her hand on the whiteboard that Chachamaru-san had helpfully wheeled out behind her on which were the images of a chibi figure with a staff and sword while the other was a robed chibi with a larger staff. "You have your magical swordsmen and artillery mages!"

Ranma knew this already and nodded along. As did Negi-sensei and Haruna, though everyone else seem engrossed like this was some new revelation.

"To give you all some examples, Ranma is a classic artillery mage since she always tends to fight from range."

"And my Father?" Negi-sensei asked eagerly.

Shishou shot him a look for interrupting but nevertheless humored him.

"The Thousand Master? Well, he was an unorthodox one but strictly speaking he would be considered a magical swordsman due to his propensity to fight at close range."

"I myself am not so limited and am in fact a mix of the two." Shishou said as a segway to flaunt her prowess. It was cute, like someone trying to act as if they were way taller than they actually were.

Not that her Shishou needed to be taller. She was better small and cute.

Pointing at Ranma's sibling disciples, the blonde vampire declared. "I want the two of you to pick how you want to be trained. That way I can make a proper training regimen and plan out what you should focus on first."

"So Ranma doesn't need to pick because she's already chosen?"

"I've made my choice long ago." Ranma told her fellow redhead with a hard look.

"Why be an artillery mage though?" Yuna-san asked, curiously. Obviously missing Ranma's hint to not push it. "I've seen you during PE, Ranma-san, and I bet you'd be great at all the martial arts that's gotta be part of being a magical swordsman."

"Onee-sama doesn't need martial arts." Haruna insisted, even as Ranma frowned.

She didn't want to have to justify herself. Not to these people! The reasons for her aversion to martial arts were private damn it!

"Huh, why?" Asuna-san asked but before she could say anything about it, Shishou interrupted.

"Leave it!" The vampire ordered, glaring at all of those in the room even as she reached over and gave one of Ranma's hands a comforting squeeze that had her blushing.

"But Ranma," Shishou said turning to her and speaking in a softer, careful tone. "If you're going to be an artillery mage you'll need familiars or Ministers to defend you from enemies who try to get close."

"But I've been getting along fine without them so far." Ranma whined with a pout.

The blonde vampire's eyes blew wide at her display and froze for a moment before she took a deep steadying breath to gather her strength before continuing.

"And how well would you do if I attack you right now?" The vampire said softly but firmly. "No crossbow, no chance to chant a spell?"

Ranma winced at that.

"So either find someone to pucker up with or I'll have to start teaching you puppet magic."

"You already know my answer to that, Shishou."

"I know. I just like pointing things out."

Everyone else blinked in shock, even Chachamaru-san. Ranma didn't know what they were going on about? What was with the faces?

"They can even have unspoken conversations already?" Asuna-san said with a smack to her forehead. "How can they _still_ not get it?"

"The Denial is strong with them." Chamo said trying to sound sagely.

_What the hell are they talking about? And why is Konoka-san smiling like she's watching quality entertainment?_

"Ignore them." Shishou said even as she opened a box that Chachamaru-san had been holding and tossed what was inside at Ranma.

With skill drilled into her by torturous training, the redhead caught a small doll that looked like a childlike version of Chachamaru.

"What's this?"

"Channel your magic through her and she'll be your first doll."

"Now?"

"Yes, you'll need her. I intend to start training today."

Giving her Shishou an affirmative nod, she channeled her magic into the doll. The joints immediately clinked and twisted as it leapt to life. Its limbs twitching like how a biological creature might if it was having a seizure as it slowly shifted from a limp posture into a sitting one whilst cradled in Ranma's arms.

"Hiya! Name's Chachazero." The doll greeted happily, a wide creepy smile on its face. "What's yer name Mistress and who ya want me to go kill?"

"Uuh." Ranma said as she looked at Shishou questioningly.

"That's perfectly normal for her. Yes." The vampire told her with a sigh. "She's always been a murderous psychopath."

"So yer name's 'Uuh', Mistress? That's a strange name. Not attractive at all."

"It's Ranma. Saotome Ranma." Ranma swiftly corrected.

"Right." Chachazero said with an enthusiastic nod. "So who you want me to kill? That broad over there with the orange hair? She's looking at ya funny. Or maybe that redhead kid? Killing kids are always fun, they scream the most funny things when you stab them. All mommy this and daddy that! Even when you've already butchered their precious mommy and daddy in front of them."

"Eva-chan want to tell us anything?" Asuna-san said, with a raised brow. Ranma actually joined her on that front.

"S-She got that from movies!" The vampire said hastily as she practically teleported in front of Ranma and looked earnestly into her face. "I've never had her do anything like that! Ranma, you've got to believe me!"

"Only Ranma? What are the rest of us? Chopped liver?" The orangette magic canceller said with a sigh.

"We're not Eva-shishou's crush." Konoka-san said with a teasing giggle.

Ranma heard none of the roommates' exchange though, she was a little too busy nodding along in frantic agreement to the denials of the vampire in her face. That and trying hard to suppress an atomic red blush at said vampire's close proximity.

"And if she mentions the Rabbit Incident, it's a filthy filthy lie."

Chachazero looked back and forth between Shishou and Ranma a couple times before asking, "Mistress, are you and Old Mistress having sex?"

"W-What!?" Ranma shouted as the shinso vampire just paled.

"They would like to," Haruna said with a cheeky grin, but neither of the two girls she was talking about heard her.

"Chachazero! She's my apprentice! My apprentice!"

"Doesn't mean you can't boink each other, Old Mistress." The doll said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's happened plenty of times in the past."

"You've had relationships with your previous apprentices?" Ranma asked sounding both sad and hopeful all at once.

"W-What!? No! You are, uh, you three are my first apprentices!"

"At least she remembered to include us this time." Konoka-san noted with a giggle. "This is so cute though. I could watch for hours!"

"Kono-chan, should we be just sitting here watching this? This should be private, no?"

"Well, they're the ones who decided to do this in public." Asuna-san said with a shrug.

"Gah, shut up peanut gallery!" Shishou shouted, her cheeks red with anger. Or embarrassment. It was hard to tell.

"Peanut gallery?" Ranma said, blinking in confusion before Chachazero helpfully pointed at the gathered friends who were sitting around watching the scene unfold.

"Oh!" The petite redhead said as she blushed scarlet at the attention. "Them."

"Gasp! We've been caught!" Konoka-san called out.

"Konoka-san, you're enjoying this too much." Negi-sensei said with a sigh.

"Yeah, them. Who are they anyways?" Chachazero asked. "If I can't kill them then they must be allies, right? So introduce me!"

A quick round of introductions followed, during which Shishou glared daggers alternately at the audience to her embarrassing herself and the doll which had set up the whole mess.

"Alright, so I only promise not to kill the bubbly one." Chachazero declared as they finished the introductions. "She heals people right? That means I can torture them more!"

"You don't touch my sister or Ucchan either." Ranma warned. "Or else."

"Okay, okay." The doll said with a disappointed whine. "I promise. Killjoy. Show me who this Ucchan is later."

"Yeah, I'll introduce you two tonight."

That the others didn't even bother commenting about how they weren't covered by Ranma's order to Chachazero was probably because they had gotten used to the doll's antics. Considering this involved promising casual murder as a tease, this was a scary thought.

"Alright, so we're done here." The vampire said with a decisive nod, her cheeks lightly pink. "So follow me. Ranma, take my arm."

"Why does she have to do that?" Asuna-san asked with a teasing grin as Ranma complied, but not without a blush.

"Because I said so!" Shishou defected as she wrapped an arm around one of her apprentice's own and led them to the back of her cottage.

"It's not 'cause you just want Ranma-san close?" Yuna-san asked, joining in on the teasing.

"It must feel nice to have your crush so close." Nodoka-san of all people said with a wistful sigh, even as she shot a blushing Negi-sensei a look.

"I will murder you all!" Shishou snapped.

"No." Ranma told her.

"...Maim?"

"No dice."

"Ugh~!"

"Master, we're here." Chachamaru said as they arrived in a back room of the cottage that was empty save a large glass bottle with some kind of diorama inside.

"I know, Chachamaru! I'm not blind."

"But you are distracted, Master." Chachamaru said innocently. "You always are when Ranma-sama is around."

"Are you teasing me too?" Shishou asked, blinking at the gynoid in shock.

"I am merely stating the truth, Master."

"See even Imouto-chan knows you've got the hots for Mistress, Old Mistress." Chachazero said with a chuckle. "You've got it bad!"

"I am being sassed by my minions now. Great. Just… great."

Thankfully for Shishou's composure, the others were all too perplexed by the innocuous looking glass diorama sphere with some strange buildings inside that dominated the otherwise empty room she'd led them to for them to pay attention to her misfortune.

"Is that a miniaturized world?" Ranma gasped as she realized what it was.

"Exactly," Shishou said with a proud grin as they were all surrounded by the light of a teleportation circle.

"As you can see, the sphere is set to a permanent summer-like atmosphere." The blonde smugly pointed out as they rematerialized _inside_ the diorama. "The top of the tower contains a pool and spa combo. Just inside there's a residential area for sleeping and a fully stocked kitchen for when you get hungry."

Everyone oohed and aahed at that and with a proud smirk Shishou continued.

"At its base we have a tropical beach with a pseudo-ocean. Within the tower we also have my private palace, off limits to you lot unless I give permission except Ranma who is welcome anytime, featuring a large indoor bath with all the goodies a bath could ever want thanks to some magical effects. There's a large dining room that overlooks the ocean. It also holds a library and study stocked full of books and scrolls on various magic techniques, practices and spells." The small vampire finished with all the smugness a child could carry.

It was adorable.

"The flow of time is altered inside here too isn't it?" Ranma asked, her eyes surveying her surroundings with her _Origin Sight_. An enhancement spell she'd recently learned from the Book of Origins that let her read the Origins of things and decipher intimate knowledge about them at just a glance. "A full day inside here is tantamount to an hour outside? I'm right aren't I?"

"Your ability to decipher magical effects at a glance is astounding as always, Ranma." Shishou said with a proud grin, "You're right on both counts. But can you discern any other limits of my resort's magic?"

"Hmm," The redhead pondered, looking around and snapped her fingers. "I don't think people can use it for more than once a day?"

"Ha! Exactly!" Shishou clapped and her fellow apprentices gave small claps of appreciation, impressed by her ability as well.

"As impressive as this place is though, there are a few things to note. For example while my resort can accelerate a person's time, it can only be used once a day from the outside perspective like Ranma said and those inside have to-"

She trailed off and looked at Ranma meaningfully.

"Stay inside for at least one full day, from their subjective perspective, once they've entered."

"You truly are a genius, aren't you?" Shishou said with a grin and Ranma preened at the praise.

"It's thanks to the Book of Origins actually." She nevertheless had to admit. "I'm mainly figuring all this out using the _Origin Sight_ spell I learned from it. When you can see something's very root, understanding everything else about it is easy."

"That makes sense," The blonde cutie ( _Where did that thought come from!?_ ) said even as an uneasy frown stretched across her face.

The others shared none of Shishou's misgivings however and applauded, impressed again by Ranma.

"Your magic is great Ranma-san! And this resort is too! It's amazing that something like this even exists. Wow! Magic is really cool!" Konoka-san said as she looked around the place in awe and the four Ministras all nodded in agreement.

"With a place like this, we can get a _lot_ of training done!" Negi-sensei offered his two cents.

"It's why I dug up the resort in the first place." Shishou said with a dismissive flip of her hair over her shoulders. "If I'm going to train apprentices I'm going to use _every_ tool available to me to do it right."

"Well, you certainly are pulling out the stops." Chamo commented. "This place is a bloody paradise."

"What you think my resort would be any less than one?" The vampire asked the fairy with a raised eyebrow.

"Guess I should've expected that." The ermine shaped miscreant allowed. "Still good job!"

Shishou rolled her eyes like praise from such a lowly creature was beneath her. Which to be fair, it was.

"Alright girls and boy." Shishou said after allowing everyone to gawk for a minute or two. "You'll be following a special schedule that I'll be drawing up."

Chachamaru-san walked over and handed her some timetables.

"That Chachamaru drew up." She corrected herself, before adding in a barely audible whisper. " _I_ wanted to do it, you damned gynoid."

"Apologies Master. I was merely trying to be helpful."

"Yup, don't blame Imouto-chan for being a slowpoke." Chachazero chimed in to add oil to the fire like the imp that she was.

"Zero!" Ranma hissed at her new familiar in warning and the doll sighed but quieted.

"Fine, fine." Shishou said, dismissing the whole thing. "Here's your schedules. You'll be spending a whole day inside the resort for training everyday from now on unless _I_ say otherwise. I don't know how you spend your days otherwise and I don't care, just make sure you set aside the hour I designate each day to show up here."

Ranma and Negi-sensei both eagerly nodded at that.

"And if we can't make it on any given day?" Konoka-san asked as she examined her schedule.

"Then let me know ASAP." Shishou said with a shrug. "I don't want to be stuck waiting for you only for you to be a no show."

"Sounds fair," Ranma opined.

Konoka-san shot a look at Setsuna-san who nodded at her, before she turned back to Shishou. "Sounds good to me."

"Eh, Eva-chan," Asuna-san said, raising her hand as if they were in class. "Why do we get schedules too?"

Shishou rolled her eyes at this. "You lot are these three Ministras or as good as, aren't you?"

The four girls nodded.

"Well, while I won't be directly training you bunch. I do want you to join in with your Magisters' training. And train here on your own as much as possible." The vampire explained with a flip of her hair and crossed her arms in a haughty manner. "Your strength is my apprentices' strength. If you're weak, they're weak. You get what I'm saying?"

The Ministras exchanged looks before nodding.

"We understand." Setsuna-san said as their spokeswoman. "We thank you for offering this opportunity to use your resort."

"Yeah, yeah, enough talking." Shishou said with a look to a watch that she wasn't wearing. "Time's a wastin'. So if we're all on the same page, let's get started with training!"

"Ready when you are, Shishou." Ranma said confidently as the others nodded their agreement.

"Good, so the first step is to gauge your power levels." Shishou said with a malicious smile. "So today, I'm going to work you three to the bone to see how you stack up against me."

"Um, Shishou?" Ranma raised her hand, drawing the blonde's attention. "There's no need for that. I can read everyone's Origins and give a percentage comparison of their respective magical levels against your own."

"Truly? That's amazingly useful, Ranma-san." The Welsh boy praised. "I didn't think such a thing was possible."

Shishou however had a tiny frown on her face as she said, "Do so. I'm curious as well."

"I'll start with myself then. Um I'm about 55% of your level." Ranma admitted with a blush. It was quite a feat she knew, she was comparing herself against _the_ Dark Evangel after all and in the magic rich resort she was at full power too. But against her fellow disciples she couldn't help but feel mediocre.

"Negi-sensei's at 70% and Konoka-san measures at 75%."

"Well, Konoe's to be expected with her lineage." Shishou stroked her chin. "Same with the boya considering who his damable father is."

"Oh, oh! Read me next Ranma-san!" Asuna-san cheerfully asked.

"Onee-sama, me next! Me!" Haruna grinned, pointing at herself with a glowing smile.

"I'm on deck, right Ranma-san? Right?" Yuna-san asked, showing as much energy as Asuna-san.

"Um, Ranma-san I too am curious of where I rank." Setsuna-san coughed into her hand, looking hopeful.

"Ah, ano, Ranma-san, i-if you could maybe rank me as well?" Nodoka-san interjected.

"Stop!" Shishou said before Ranma could go ahead and shot the Ministras a stern look. "You lot don't seem to get how dangerous what Ranma is doing is so let me spell it out. She's reading your _Origins_ to do this. She's literally seeing you at your most basic level, stripping away _everything_. Invasive doesn't even cover it. And then there's Ranma's side of things to consider. How much can her brain handle seeing something so far beyond human comprehension?"

"Uh, it's not quite so bad?" Ranma said placatingly. "My brain filters out everything I don't want to know. So I don't get overloaded or see things that I shouldn't."

"It's still dangerous. What if you lose control of the spell and it shows you more than what you want?" Shishou insisted. "I forbid you from using it outside of an absolute emergency without permission."

_Aw~!_ Ranma thought with a pout. She was having so much fun with the spell too!

"Alright, Shishou. I promise."

"Good, now since Ranma has saved me some time." Shishou said before looking towards Chachamaru-san. "Is the training area by the beach set up?"

"Yes, Master. I've had my sisters prepare them."

Shishou laughed maniacally at the news and everyone tensed for a moment.

"Oh this is gonna be fun!" The Dark Evangel said with a smirk that promised pain. "You'll all be getting the full taste of my power today. It's time for our first spar! I know your magical strength, now it's time to see how you _use_ it in a fight! Prepare to get having the stuffing beat out of you."

_Why did that sound like the most ominous thing I've ever heard?_ Ranma thought with a shiver.

She was right to be afraid. The pummeling she and the others got from Shishou was something she'd remember for the rest of her life. As she fell asleep in the resort that night, she swore her bruises had bruises. It was so bad she almost couldn't fully appreciate how her Shishou had snuck into her bed and cuddled up to her in the middle of the night.

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Whoo! Been a while since we've done a long chapter. Feels nice to get back at one. And what a chapter it was. First off, we changed up Negi's fight with Chachamaru thanks to Ranma bringing up a good point for Negi's defense of knowing how to fight. And we gave Negi a slyer nature that he showed off in early Negima with his using those toy wands and then showed off his new spell ring. And yes, we know Eva gives him one but he would have scoured for his own to win that challenge.
> 
> Nameless: Negi was a minor collector of magic foci in canon if I remember correctly, so with our version of Mahora having a magical market it only makes sense he'd buy some goodies.
> 
> And now onto the fluff. And I mean the FLUFF. Eva and Ranma's flirty and 'not' being a couple was so hilarious to write that it honestly wrote itself. I mean, we had a blast just penning those shenanigans.
> 
> Nameless: Can I say I love the denial running gag? It's hilarious. Though at this rate I've got to wonder, can Eva and Ranma qualify for divine status as the goddesses of denial just on their pure level of wilful obliviousness?
> 
> And now, for something completely different. So, we hint at the small things of Eva eyeing the Book of Origins. I mean, Eva is wary the frick out of the thing and honestly probably hardly trusts it in Ranma's hands. I am sure she's seen a few cursed artifacts back in the day.
> 
> Nameless: Yup. We also have our first hints of the bad sides of Ranma's dabbling into Origin magic through Eva's little rant. There'll be more to come and people familiar with the Nasuverse from which we borrowed the concept will have some clue as to what might happen the more Ranma explores her Origin by using Corrosion magic. Remember what happened to Lio Shirazumi?
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	21. New Scout

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty One: New Scout**

**Beta:**

* * *

"Kuzunoha-sensei! Why are you chasing me!?" Kazumi shouted as she ran away from the blonde haired Kindergarten teacher through the park that surrounded Mahora Girls' Junior High's dorms.

"You know what you did!" The teacher said as she slashed her sword in Kazumi's direction and sent a wave of energy that barely missed her as she ran towards the dorms and hopefully whatever relative safety Negi-sensei could offer.

"Not really?! And why do you have a sword?! Aren't you a Kindergarten teacher?!"

"I'm not here in my capacity as a teacher, Asakura-san." The blonde said as she flickered out of view only to reappear next to Kazumi a second later. "I'm here as the Head of the Kanto Magic Association's Operations Division and I'm here to erase your memory of magic."

"I did nothing wrong! You have no proof!" Kazumi wailed as she continued to run like a madwoman despite her lungs feeling like they were on fire. "And I don't care if you can pull a rabbit from a hat!"

_Play dumb, just play dumb._ Kazumi kept telling herself. _Keep playing dumb and hopefully they'll just give up!_

"We have it on record, you foolish child!" The sword wielding teacher said with a disappointed shake of head, though what she had to feel disappointed about Kazumi couldn't fathom. It was not like it was _she_ was the one being chased around and the sanctity of her mind being threatened.

"Then why are we screaming about it in public!?" Kazumi countered, trying a different tack even as she continued trying to run as far away from the pursuing teacher as possible.

"Illusion magic." Another sensei said as Kazumi ran into him. Or a barrier of some kind and landed on her butt.

Looking up, she saw the bishonen Seruhiko-sensei looking at her apologetically.

"Ow." The reporter said as she rubbed her tender rear end, playing it up in a desperate bid to garner some kind of sympathy from the new arrival. Considering how persistent Kuzunoha-sensei had been she had no illusions of working her charms on her, but just maybe she'd manage to get Seruhiko-sensei on her side.

_Men were weak to crying weren't they?_ Kazumi thought as she forced some tears out. She was no great actress and able to cry on demand but considering how worked up she was from the whole deadly pursuit, it wasn't hard at all to muster up a few tears. All things considered, said tears weren't really acting on her part. At least not for the most part.

"Sorry." The male teacher told her with a weak smile as he took an uncomfortable step back from her.

Kazumi was about to lay on the charm when a new voice cut her short.

"Uh, Kuzunoha-sensei, Seruhiko-sensei?" Ranma-san said from where Kazumi just noticed she was sitting in a tree with Eva-san. "What's going on here? You three are making quite a ruckus and even with the barrier you put up I'm pretty sure someone is gonna notice all this soon."

"Nothing you need to worry about Saotome-chan." Kuzunoha-sensei said dismissively. "And especially not you Evangeline."

"'Chan'!?" Eva-san said as she stood up, her eyes glowing red. "What gave you the right to call _my_ apprentice something so demeaning!?"

"It's a term of endearment?" Seruhiko-sensei added, trying to help the situation.

"Well, it's reserved! No one but those close to _my_ Ranma can use it!"

Blushing brilliantly, Ranma-san pulled the vampire back into a sitting position and began hastily whispering to her in a bid to calm her down.

"And they aren't a couple?" Seruhiko-sensei said under his breath. "Who are they kidding?"

"I know, right? This seems to be important. I should go and leave you to it." Kazumi said as she got to her feet to leave, but the pale blond sensei just gave her a dry look. "Yeah, figures."

"Anyways~!" Ranma-san said loudly having apparently calmed her Shishou down, though Kazumi was a little leery of the fact she seemed to have done so by allowing the vampire to bite down on her neck and get a drink of her blood.

The absolute nonchalance she exhibited as a vampire drank from her neck was freaky. Something the two teachers seemed to agree with if the way they were both fidgeting nervously was any indication.

"Why are you chasing Asakura-san?" Ranma-san asked, seemingly completely oblivious to the reactions her actions, or lack thereof, was getting from her audience.

"We need to wipe her memory after the incident in Kyoto." The cold hearted Kuzunoha-sensei informed.

"Is that all?" Eva-san drawled as she pulled back from Ranma-san's neck though not before licking it to close the bite wound she'd created. It still left a distinctive hickey looking mark though, not that either girl seemed to care.

"Negi-sensei brought her into our world." Ranma-san said with a thoughtful look. "I think he should have a say in this."

"Trust us, he's going to be reprimanded pretty bad by the Dean for letting Asakura-kun here find out." Seruhiko-sensei said in what was a pretty reassuring tone. He really did live up to his reputation as the Academy's number one most emphatic teacher.

"Hey, Reporter Girl!" Eva-san called out suddenly.

"Yes!?" Kazumi squeaked as she looked at the vampire, who was licking her lips clean of Ranma-san's blood, looking like she just finished a cherry popsicle.

"You wanna risk brain damage?"

"What!? No!" Kazumi cried out in instinctive alarm.

_Was that what was really at stake!?_ The amateur journalist thought with horror.

"Eva-san, you know that only happens in the rarest cases." Seruhiko-sensei said chidingly.

"And we do have professionals on standby." Kuzunoha-sensei added with a frown.

"Yeah, it still happens though." Eva-san said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she snuggled into Ranma-san's side. "So let's avoid the risk entirely and take a page out of Ranma's imouto's book."

"What do you have in mind?" Seruhiko-sensei asked with a frown of his own.

* * *

"Thanks Negi-sensei," Kazumi heard Kuonji-san say happily as she approached the area in the expansive Library Island where Ranma-san said their homeroom teacher would be.

"Asakura-san?" The ninja, swordswoman and chef said as she stepped out of the study carrel where their Sensei was and ran into Kazumi. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Negi-sensei. You?" Kazumi asked, her journalistic curiosity piqued.

"Just getting some references to some texts on exorcisms." Kuonji-san said with a shrug. "Sensei is quite an expert in the field."

"Exorcisms?" Kazumi asked, blinking in confusion.

"Yup," the brunette said with a nod. "For if Eva-san breaks Ranchan's heart and I've gotta kill her for it."

"You're joking right?" Kazumi asked her relatively new classmate uncertainly.

If she had been one of her other classmates, Kazumi would be ninety percent sure that was all it was. As it stood though, Kuonji-san had only joined the class a semester ago and thus Kazumi didn't know her well enough to say the same applied to her.

This doubt was further fueled when the other girl replied with a noncommittal shrug and began walking away.

"See you around, Asakura-san." The swordswoman said as she disappeared around a corner.

"Bye," Kazumi waved back feeling unsettled and questioning why the hell she got involved in all this.

_Oh right, because I thought it would make me world famous._

Stepping into the study carrel at last, Kazumi found Negi working on something while surrounded by a large assortment of books, which by the titles of the few books she could read were all about spirit manipulation and exorcism.

"Negi-sensei! You've got to help me!" Kazumi begged without preamble.

"Huh? Kazumi-san? Of course! What do you need help with?" Negi-sensei said without missing a beat.

"I need a Pactio ASAP or face possible brain damage!"

"The other mages caught up to you already?" The Welshman asked, as he blinked in confusion for a moment before his face settled into a frown. "I'd have thought they would at least inform me of that and we would all talk it out before they did anything."

"Well, they didn't. And now it's either make a Pactio with you or get my brain frazzled."

"It's not as bad as that. Memory manipulation isn't really _that_ ri-"

"Sensei, please!" Kazumi said, falling to her knees and clutching at the boy teacher desperately.

"Okay, okay. If you're that worried, then I guess it's okay. Chamo-"

"Already got the circle ready, Aniki!" The ermine fairy said with a thumbs up as it clutched a chalk for emphasis in its other forelimb. "All you two need is to smooch and it's done."

"Alri-"

Not even letting her Sensei finish her sentence, Kazumi grabbed his head and pulled him into a kiss.

* * *

A few hours later Negi was in the dorm room he shared with Asuna-san and Konoka-san telling them about what happened.

"-And that's how I ended up making a Pactio with Kazumi-san." The boy mage said as he finished the tale.

"He leave anything out?" Asuna-san asked, turning to Chamo.

"Nope." The ermine fairy said in confirmation. "You know Aniki can't lie for nuts. Of course, he's telling the truth."

"Lying by omission is still lying." Konoka-san opined. "And Negi is able to pull that off. Mostly."

"True," Chamo agreed, causing Negi to pout.

_Whose side is he on!?_ The Welshman thought as he shot his familiar a betrayed look.

"Well, I didn't leave anything out this time." Negi said firmly.

"Alright, we believe you." Asuna-san reassured him. "No need to be so uptight about it. We were just asking."

"That's not why I'm, uh, uptight." Negi countered though he was quickly forced to amend his statement when the orangette shot him a disbelieving look. "Not entirely anyways."

"Out with it, brat." Asuna-san said with a sigh. "What _else_ has got you worked up?"

"It's just," Negi began before sighing and looking off into the distance for a moment before continuing. "I guess I'm just a little uncomfortable about my growing number of Ministra Magi. Tradition says that a mage is only supposed to have one and-"

"Don't sweat it Aniki," Chamo chimed in with a chuckle. "Having so many partners is making you stronger, right?"

Negi couldn't help but nod at that.

"Then why worry?" Chamo reassured him. "It's all good."

"Shut it, you little pervert!" Asuna-san exclaimed, her heel delivering a devastating stomp on the ermine spirit even as she pointed a finger at Negi. "I get that you're worried, but just chill! All of us made a Pactio with you out of our own will. Or survival. Or curiosity. J-Just don't worry, alright?!"

"A-Ane-san!" Chamo-kun gasped out, but he didn't look too bothered as the orangette's heel grinded into him.

"Does my opinion factor in at all?" Negi couldn't help but pout.

One of Kazumi-san's egg shaped floating camera golems floated towards him, her voice filtering through its unbuilt speakers. It was quite the interesting artifact.

" _Are you really upset about this, Negi-sensei? I mean, you helped out a lot of your cute little students!"_

Negi felt a smile tug at his lips, "Of course I'm not! Helping one's students is a teacher's job after all."

Konoka-san looked over to the small golem and tilted her head. "Kazumi-san, why are you talking to us with your golem? Can't you just come over and do it normally?"

" _It's practice Konoka-san! I've been playing around with my artifact! Did you know I have a stealth mode on these things?! It's so cool!"_

"Stealth mode?" Asuna-san asked warily. "You better not even think about using it to do anything perverted or immoral. No matter how much anyone, especially a certain fairy, might offer you."

That Asuna-san ended this statement by glaring down at Chamo-kun made it abundantly clear just who she thought might end up convincing Kazumi-san into doing something untoward with her new artifact.

Chamo-kun looked like his very soul was leaving him. "A-A-Ane-san~!"

"It's your own fault for being so perverted, Chamo-kun." Konoka-san said with a giggle at the poor fairy's expense.

"You know they're right, Chamo." Negi said, adding his two cents.

"I'm not _that_ bad!" Chamo protested but everyone ignored him.

" _Sorry Chamo-kun, but I've gotta agree with them. You kinda are."_

Finding that he had no support whatsoever, Chamo deflated a little and proving he was never in any danger of harm from Asuna-san slunk out from under her foot to disappear into a corner to sulk.

A sight that everyone couldn't help but chuckle at.

" _Okay, I promise not to use my artifact for anything inappropriate no matter what anyone offers me."_ Kazumi-san said with conviction. " _Not like I can do much anyways. I'm barely managing to control them. Like I said I need practice."_

"Practice, huh?" Asuna-san said with a dark smirk. "You don't really need to worry about that. You'll be getting plenty of that soon enough."

" _What do you mean by that?"_ Kazumi-san said warily. " _And why does it sound so ominous?"_

"You'll see, Kazumi-san." Konoka-san added with a playful smile. "You'll see soon enough."

"Negi-sensei, what do they mean?" Kazumi-san asked nervously.

Negi was on the verge of telling her but the looks from his roommates silenced him.

"Uh, it's a surprise?" He said lamely instead.

"Why am I not reassured? I need reassurance."

"Don't worry too much, Kazumi-san." Negi tried again. "It'll be fine."

By the way her golem looked at him sharply, Negi could tell she didn't believe him. Not that he blamed her. He didn't believe himself either.

* * *

"Do I really have to do this?" Kazumi asked in what even she could admit was a whine as she accompanied Negi-sensei, as well as the other mages and Ministras of 3-A for the first time as they headed over to Eva-san's cabin for their daily training.

"Yes," almost everyone chorused with playful smirks.

"But I'm just a scout type." Kazumi protested. "I don't need training."

"Everyone needs training to master their skills." Sakurazaki-san said with an amused shake of her head.

"Yeah." Kagurazaka-san added with a grin. "Natural talent only goes so far."

"It's not so bad, Asakura-san." Konoe-san said with a grin. "Eva-shishou's uniforms are very pretty."

"Uniforms? We have to wear uniforms!?"

"Shishou just likes us to look the part as her apprentices." Ranma-san said in defense of the ancient vampire.

"Yeah and getting you all dressed up like a goth loli has _nothing_ to do with it, eh, Onee-sama?" Paru teased her sister.

Ranma-san just smirked. "You do realize half the dresses I wear for training come from my own collection right? Shishou just gave me a chance to dress up."

"Don't remind me," Paru said with a groan. "Why do you have to like dressing up so much!? You take up so much space in our closet!"

As the Saotome sisters fell into squabbling, Kazumi turned away from them to keep questioning the others.

"So anything else I should know besides needing to cosplay?"

"You technically don't need to do it since you aren't one of Eva-san's apprentices but-" Negi-sensei said before trailing off as a frown settled on his face.

"It's better you do." Akashi-san added. "Or Eva-san's liable to get ticked. At least if Ranma-san isn't distracting her too much that day."

"Okay~." Kazumi said, nodding uncertainly. "Anything else?"

"There is the blood tax." Akashi-san smirked. "You feel light headed at first, and then it's nappy time."

"And then its training for several hours after that." Sakurazaki-san added with a nod.

"To be fair, it helps train us to deal with fighting when exhausted." Kagurazaka-san offered with a feral grin, her eyes dancing with mirth at Kazumi's expense.

"Or blood loss!" Konoe-san said with a giggle.

"Don't worry." Honya-chan chimed in whilst offering a comforting smile. "Eva-san doesn't take our blood often. She mainly drinks from Ranma-san and occasionally Negi-sensei."

"It's not all bad," Paru spoke up having apparently concluded her argument with her sister. "The weather in Eva-san's resort is always nice."

"Unless Shishou wants to change things up and have us fight in a typhoon again." Ranma-san said with a tired sigh.

"Or sandstorm." The twintailed orangette added.

"Or blizzard." The basketball star chirped.

"She can do that!?" Kazumi gasped.

"The resort is a sealed environment. Shishou, as its owner, can make its weather however she likes." Negi-sensei confirmed. "Don't worry though. She likes the default tropical beach setting so she won't change it unless she has to for training."

Kazumi just gulped and nervously nodded.

"Do I want to know anything else?"

"You might end up at the edge of death's door occasionally." Ranma-san added as if that wasn't utterly horrifying. "But don't worry. Konoe-san will patch you up in no time."

"Count on me!" The aforementioned healer said confidently.

"And for any cases that Konoka can't handle, Shishou has a doll for it." Negi-sensei added. "Though why a vampire has a healer doll I-"

"We ordered it from an artificer in the magical market," Ranma-san said with a wistful look. "You know when Shishou and I went shopping there the other day? I pointed out it was better to have a backup if Konoe-san was unavailable for whatever reason."

The whole group, save Kazumi, shared knowing looks and giggles at that.

For her part, Kazumi was too terrified to be amused by how Ranma-san was being all dreamy about her date with Eva-san. In fact, she was seriously considering just running away. She was just making her move when Ranma-san grabbed her arm and pulled her along with the others.

"Why are you smirking like that?" Kazumi asked the petite redhead.

"You'll find out soon enough, Asakura-san," Ranma-san said, her smirk just growing wider.

"Sensei, I'm scared. She's scaring me." Kazumi whimpered to the small British teacher.

"Relax, Asakura-san." Negi-sensei said reassuringly. "At least she's not getting Zero-san to mess with you. _Then_ you should be scared."

"Sensei, that wasn't reassuring. _At all_."

Her homeroom teacher just shrugged with a mischievous smirk.

_I'm doomed ain't I?_ Kazumi thought to herself with dread as the group walked within view of Eva-san's cottage and the fate that awaited her within. _Someone! Anyone! Save me! Kaa-san!_

* * *

Three weeks later, even as a storm raged in the skies, Fate Averruncus hovered over Mahora with a butterfly sitting on his shoulder and surveyed the campus town far below. He stood unmoving and unfazed even as he was soaked by the sheets of rain that fell all around him and lightning flashed scant feet from his position.

"I do not understand, Master." The loyal servant of the Mage of the Beginning said as he held up the artifact known as the Demon-sealing Bottle. "Why would we need to use them? Even going as far to steal this prison of theirs from the Kansai Magic Association? Is this not too troublesome?"

The butterfly flapped its wings for a moment as if in reply.

"But they are weak." Fate argues with a narrowing of his eyes. "They were after all captured by mere mortals."

The demons in the bottle having gotten sealed after rampaging through Britain sometime after being part of and surviving the operation that the Master had used to initially set up the son of the Thousand Master as a potential seed.

The butterfly again flapped its wings.

"I see, master." Fate said with a nod. "You are, as always, correct. They would indeed be a good check for the two's progress. I take it that is why we are only releasing them now?"

The butterfly took flight and circled Fate's head before once more landing on his shoulder.

"Though I do have one last question if you would indulge me master."

The butterfly flapped its wings once more.

"Why allow the dog half-demon to come and assist the two seeds?"

The butterfly walked around Fate's shoulder in what seemed like a dance.

"As a control to better measure their current strength?" Fate asked with a blink. "I would not think such would be necessary."

The butterfly did one more dance and Fate nodded.

"'Better safe than sorry'? Your wisdom is great as always, master. I apologize for questioning it." The earth mage said with an apologetic nod to the butterfly. "I shall release them now."

The butterfly flapped its wings once more.

"In front of the half-demon boy?" Fate said with a blink. "Are you so starving for amusement, master?"

The butterfly radiated displeasure.

"Apologies master," Fate said with a playful smirk even as he offered his master another apologetic nod and finally unstoppered the Demon-sealing Bottle before hurling it in the direction of the half-demon rushing towards Mahora.

* * *

It was a stormy day and Kazumi was looking forward to being able to take a Sunday afternoon nap before evening training in Eva-chan's resort. Yes more training! On a Sunday! Who knew becoming a Ministra required so much effort? If she'd known she'd never have accepted.

Oh, who was she kidding? Considering a memory wipe, with its potential for brain damage, was on the cards so she had no other choice.

Sighing in frustration, she reflected on the training she'd gone through in the last three weeks as she finished up some of her homework.

From the grueling runs that Asuna-san was making her do to get in shape - Not that she was complaining _too_ much about those. They were making helping her butt look fantastic! - along with dodging Ranma-san's sick puppet when it would try to stab her, she was fitter than ever.

Then there was learning basic magic from Paru along with Akashi-san, Konoka-san and Honya-chan. She'd nearly lost her eyebrows from that basic fire spell! Though honestly none of the spells she'd played around with felt right to the reporter. Something that when she asked Paru about the mangaka had simply told her was normal and that she would find her niche eventually. Fat load of good that did her now though.

And don't even get her started on having to endure the puppy love between Ranma-san and Eva-san. It was teeth pulling at how the ancient loli vampire could be so inept at just getting the petite redhead. All they seemed to do was snuggle during 'training'. Though Eva-chan really liked hunting and pinning the girl down too, something which she usually followed up by stealing a sip of blood! So lewd! Especially since Eva-chan _always_ left Ranma-san with a hickey afterwards.

"Pillows are nice." Kazumi mumbled into hers, treating it like she was seeing a friend after a long, grueling trip as having finished her last assignment she stumbled into her bed. Something she deeply welcomed.

Training had been thoroughly draining and had especially left all three of Eva's apprentices seeming out of it at times during class. Even their Ministras, like her, had been left exhausted, though thankfully to a lesser extent. Asuna-san, Paru, Setsuna-san, Honya-chan, Yuna-san, and Kazumi herself did join the apprentices in their own training. But unlike their Magisters didn't get put through the same hell by Eva and so came out of it feeling better. It wasn't all bad though.

Honya-chan and Yuna-san's magical abilities were growing pretty steadily thanks to tips on magic from Negi-sensei and occasionally Ranma-san and Eva-san. That is when the two could stop being all lovey dovey with each other to remember the others existed. Even with just Negi-sensei's coaching though, both her classmates had begun demonstrating real proficiency in their magic.

Honya-chan had already mastered _Sagitta Magica, Series Ignis_ (Magic Arrows, Fire Series) and was growing closer to doing the same with the slightly more advanced _Apes Igniferae_ (Crimson Bees). Akashi-san for her part had rather unconventionally chosen to master the _Tarda_ (Slow) and _Festina_ (Haste) spells. Though she was also experimenting with the _Deflexio_ (Wind Shield) and combining it with her Artifact in some way. Kazumi would have loved to know exactly how but the basketball star was being super secretive about whatever she was cooking up.

At the same time, Asuna-san and Setsuna-san had taken to regularly sparring, with Setsuna-san teaching the Magic Canceler about swordplay and even to Kazumi's untrained eye the orangette was starting to gain some real skill.

Kazumi herself had mainly benefited from joining Paru, Yuna-san and Honya-chan in practicing with their artifacts by organizing mock battles with themselves on one side and the Magisters, Asuna-san and Setsuna-san or some combination thereof on the other. Paru focused on using these sessions to learn how to coordinate her golems like an army while Yuna-san honed her overall combat skills by playing direct attacker. All the while, Kazumi and Honya-chan focused on supporting the others with their information gathering abilities.

The two of them were, in Kazumi's totally objective opinion, a real killer combo with Kazumi's camera golems providing the visuals and the usually shy girl's mind reading complementing each other pretty nicely. Though Honya-chan had also started experimenting with ranged support via her fire spells which just made them even more dangerous.

_Or should I say makes Honya-chan more dangerous?_ Kazumi pondered as she shifted her position on her bed.

The purple haired girl was _really_ starting to get scary.

_Why are all the cute ones so scary?_ Kazumi thought with a pout. And yes, she thought Honya-chan was cute. So sue her for being able to appreciate the female form alongside the male one! She was a journalist and being able to appreciate the aesthetic quality of both sexes came with the ballpark.

_Back on topic, Kazumi!_ The redhead chided herself as she pulled her thoughts from spiraling in a direction she didn't think she was ready for quite yet.

While the Magister v. Ministra battles were intense, they had nothing on the spars Eva-chan regularly made Ranma-san and Negi-sensei take part in. All while her third apprentice stood on the sidelines clutching her long white staff with a spiraling design that ran along its length and was topped by a large cup like object over which floated a white pearl flanked by a series of white angel wings that her grandfather arranged to be crafted for her so she could heal any injuries the two might sustain. A task that the slave driving vampire demanded the poor healer accomplish within three minutes of the combatants sustaining it.

A feat Konoe-san had increasingly struggled to do as the mock battles had grew more and more intense, especially as Ranma used more and more of the Corrosion element spells she'd learned from the Book of Origins

_And blimey! But those spells scare the crap out of me!_ Kazumi admitted with a shudder.

But even to Kazumi's untrained eyes, all the effort was paying off. It was clear that the three were growing stronger by leaps and bounds.

_Was it because of their pedigree? But Ranma-san doesn't come from a long line of mages, right? Or maybe they were all geniuses and the rest of us are just average?_

A knock to the door pulled Kazumi out of her reflections. Blinking, the redhead rose to her feet.

"I wonder who that is." Kazumi said to herself with a frown. "I'm not expecting any visitors. Is it a delivery?"

_Whatever the case, it's best to at least check what it's about._ Kazumi concluded. _It shouldn't be anything dangerous. Campus security would've dealt with something like that long before they got anywhere near the dorms._

Feeling confident in that assumption, she opened the door ignoring how lightning flashed ominously outside just as she did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> This was a fun segway into the next incident our gang of heroes will run into. Having Kazumi run around trying to not get brain scrambled was fun. At least she doesn't become a drooling idiot now!
> 
> Nameless: So Kazumi has joined the madness that is Negi's 'harem'. How will she fare? Let's just say we have plans for her. Very interesting plans. Mwahahaha!
> 
> Yeah, the plans are fun and interesting. You'll have to wait to see! Though Kazumi's despair over all the training is hilarious to us.
> 
> Nameless: Especially considering what happens to her later on. Evil smirk.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	22. Old Nemesis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Two: Old Nemesis**

**Beta:**

* * *

Konoka was in the dorm's extensive baths' changing rooms stripping down with Set-chan, Asuna, Yuna-san, Nodoka-chan and Paru in preparation for a bath. They had just come from a day of training in Eva-shishou's resort and all they wanted right now was a good soak to relax their tired and sore muscles.

Moving mechanically due to their exhaustion, they disrobed in silence and it was not until they were all walking into the baths proper that they found the strength to strike up a conversation.

"So anyone knows why Ranma-san isn't joining us?" Asuna asked with a teasing quality that told everyone she already knew the answer to her own question. Not that it was hard. Everyone there did.

"Oh, you know why." Paru said with a giggle. "Onee-sama is staying back to spend some time with her girlfriend."

Konoka couldn't help giggling at that even as she poured oil on the fire.

"Or maybe Ranma-san is getting _one-on-one_ tutoring from Eva-shishou~"

This left Paru in stitches while poor Nodoka-chan blushed atomic red at the suggestion.

"You know as much as they are fun to joke about and look cute together, aren't they, I dunno, progressing too fast?" Yuna-san asked with a slight frown. "I mean, I don't think I've seen Ranma-san's neck free of a hickey in weeks!"

"Nonsense! It's like something out of a manga!" Paru exclaimed with twinkling eyes. "That it's happening in real life, makes it all the better!"

"I wonder." Konoka said, a mischievous lilt to her voice. "Does Shishou give Ranma-san hickeys in places besides her neck? Is that why she didn't come to the baths with us? She didn't want us to find out~?"

Seemingly defying reason, Nodoka-chan's blush got even more intense and even Set-chan had drifted off into her own little world if her blushing face was anything to go by.

"Konoka, knock it off." Asuna, the spoilsport, said with a sigh. "The two of them would need to admit they're a couple to go to second base like that and we all know the lovebirds are far too dense for that."

This was met with exasperated sighs from everyone as they realized just how right the orangette was. The obliviousness and denial the couple had towards their status as such was cute and amusing as hell to watch but it _did_ get tiring sometimes. Honestly! How could a pair who were practically fused at the hip whenever they were together and all over each other like Ranma-san and Eva-shishou _not_ know they were an item!?

_Wait! Maybe they_ do _know and have been trolling us this whole time by pretending to be ignorant!_

"Man, the weather outside has just been crummy, huh?" Akashi-san commented whilst gesturing out the glass ceiling through which the pitter patter of rain could be heard, even from the inside of the baths. "Talk about a mood killer. Maybe I could just go to the resort after this to train or catch up on some homework?"

"We just left the resort, Akashi-san." Set-chan reminded her. "We'll need to wait another twenty four hours before we can use it again."

"Yeah but it's so nice there!" Akashi-san pouted.

"Talking about the bad weather, you think that's why Asakura-san didn't join us for training today?" Nodoka-chan asked. "Maybe she got stuck somewhere thanks to the rain?"

"It's possible," Paru allowed. "Though Asakura-san was never all that enthused with the training so I imagine she probably just used the weather as an excuse to skip."

"I can see where she's coming from," Yuna admitted. "But also not. I mean it's tough and all but it makes us so much stronger, so quickly. It's totally worth it."

This was met with agreement from everyone. It was also at this time that they reached the pool of heated spring water was the baths' main pool, and everyone slipped into it whilst making some sign of contentment in the process.

They barely got to enjoy their soak for more than a few seconds though before suddenly the water seemed to come alive.

Konoka, acting on instincts trained into her thanks to Eva-shishou, reacted immediately.

" _Magicae Scalpello_ (Magic Scalpel)." She cast confidently, conjuring a magical scalpel at the tip of her right pointer finger that she used to cut any questing tendrils of water reaching towards her even as she used a little basic magical reinforcement to leap out of the water and back onto the relative safety of the poolside.

_Thank goodness Eva-shishou trained us how to cast our spells without our focuses. I might not be able to manage any of my powerful spells without my staff, but I should be able to pull off all of my few offensive ones._ Konoka thought as she cut a few of the water tentacles that tried to reach for her as she continued retreating from their reach.

"Not again!" Konoka heard Asuna cry out as the orangette slapped at the water, her innate Magic Cancel doing some damage to the animated liquid. "I had enough of this back in Kyoto!"

The others weren't so lucky as the water swiftly formed into tentacles that trapped them despite their struggles. Even Set-chan was unable to fight free. She'd used her unhanded Shinmei-ryū techniques to fend them off but between the surprise of the attack and the large number of tentacles that had singled her out, even her girlfriend couldn't escape their grasp.

Konoka couldn't help but briefly admire her girlfriend's trapped and wiggling form. Whatever was animating the water would be an interesting spell to learn. But for now she had to focus.

Her momentary distraction was costly though as in the time where she was daydreaming, the water managed to finish restraining Asuna and trap the others in water bubbles.

"Bravo!" A well dressed older gentleman said with a clap as he literally stepped out of the shadows on the opposite side of the pool from Konoka. "I am honestly amazed that out of all the girls here it would be the healer that managed to avoid immediate capture. I suppose I shouldn't underestimate an apprentice of the Dark Evangel."

Once more falling back on her training, Konoka reacted to the enemy showing himself without hesitation.

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis_ (Magic Arrow, Light Series)!" She cast, sending three dozen arrows of light at the man.

"Attacking without hesitation or consideration of your state of undress?" The man said as he casually swept his arm and sent a barrage of shadow bolts that intercepted Konoka's attack. "How unexpected from such a young girl."

Konoka winced. One part because she was reminded that she was currently naked, something she had all but forgotten thanks to the situation, and the accompanying unhelpful urge to cover up despite being in the middle of a dangerous fight. Another because with the nigh effortless way her opponent had dealt with her _Sagitta Magica_ she was pretty sure she was utterly outclassed.

_Should I_ _try to run? But that would mean leaving Set-chan and everyone else behind_.

"Who are you?" Konoka demanded, trying to stall for time and gleam any information she could.

"This might sound a bit cliche, but I cannot say." The man said with an apologetic shake of his head. "Not yet."

"You're right, that is cliche. You seem to be a man above that though! Come on, you look like you have a story to tell." She asked with a carefree smile, playing up some of her more ditzy nature.

"Oh. I suppose I can reveal some of my secrets." The man said as he suddenly vanished.

"Like what I really am." The man's voice said from over Konoka's shoulder, causing her to spin around only to be met with a demon sporting a cartoonish face and a pair of spiraling horns.

Konoka gasped but even as she did so she also simultaneously non-verbally cast another brace of _Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis_ at the newly revealed hellspawn. Not that it did any good as he just batted the dozen light arrows out of the air with a lazy swing of his arm. All in the same breath that Set-chan used to call out a warning.

"A demon?" Konoka blinked in surprise. "Who summo-"

She never finished her question as all the air in her lungs suddenly evacuated her lips as she was hoisted off the ground by some invisible force. Her words cut off as her legs feebly kicked the air, the demon's gleaming yellow eyes staring into her own with a cartoonish smile.

" **That's a secret~"** The demon said as it lifted a hand in her direction in what was a clear imitation of a Force Choke from Galaxy Wars. " **I'm afraid revealing my nature is the only freebie I'm giving tonight young lady. Nighty night!"**

Konoka struggled against it but it was futile. She was simply too weak to overcome the dark power of the demon even with Set-chan and the rest of her friends shouting encouragement at her. Thus it was with the sound of their worried cries filling her ears that her awareness began to fade.

_I just hope Shishou won't be too disappointed._ Konoka thought as she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

* * *

"Huh? That was unexpected." Eva-shishou said suddenly from across the vampire's dining table where she and Ranma were seated. The redhead reading through some of her Shishou's tomes as part of her magical training as the aforementioned master mage supervised.

"Shishou?" Ranma asked questioningly.

"Oh, it's nothing." The adorable vampire said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Just a call from Campus Security."

"Magical Campus Security I take it?" Ranma clarified with a raised eyebrow and received a nod in return. "What's going on?"

"Like I said, nothing. Just a bunch of demons infiltrating Campus."

Ranma sat up straight in alarm at that, abandoning her reading. Her Shishou might not be concerned about the threat of demons but to most people, Ranma included, even the weakest demons were a danger.

"Is Security reacting?"

"They are mobilizing," Eva-shishou said with a distracted air. "Though the situation is, according to them, complicated."

"Why?" Ranma asked even as a feeling of dread began to coil in her stomach.

"Because the demons appear to have taken hostages, Ranma-sama." Chachamaru-san said as she walked over from wherever she wandered off to. "Specifically, they seem to have captured all of our allies."

"Chachamaru!" The blonde vampire hissed reprimandingly at her gynoid partner.

"Did you not want me to tell her, Master?" Chachamaru-san asked, blinking in confusion.

"What?!" Ranma whirled on Eva-shishou, ignoring the android. "Why didn't you mention something was wrong the moment they entered!"

The blonde shrugged. "If I just raised the alarm, the boya and the others wouldn't have this chance to test themselves. Actual combat experience trumps training nine times out of ten."

"And I don't need it?" Ranma couldn't help but ask even as she hissed at her Shishou's in character but nonetheless frustrating line of thinking.

"To be honest? No." The vampire said with a serious look. "These intruders wouldn't stand a chance against you if you went all out. It's why I didn't send you after them. It would be a waste of your time."

"They kidnapped _my sister_."

"And they'll be fine. Or do you think them weak, Ranma?"

Ranma found her anger smothered at this.

"No, they are strong…"

"Then have faith in them," Eva-shishou urged. "This is a lesson too. For you. Sometimes you need to trust in the strength of your allies. No one can be everywhere all the time. There will be times when you won't be there to help those you care about and can only trust in their own strength."

Ranma nodded but bit her lower lip worriedly. As much as she could see the logic in her Shishou's words…

"I can't just abandon Haruna."

Eva-shishou sighed.

"Fine," the vampire said, sounding resigned. "But try not to interfere _too_ much. Don't tell the boya but as it stands, you are by far the most powerful of my apprentices. I wasn't exaggerating when I said these demons were beneath you. They might be a minor challenge but you'd likely finish them with just a handful of spells. So if you interfere in his fight, you will stunt his development."

"I understand." Ranma said as she stood. "I will try my best to be restrained."

"Do that." Eva-shishou noddeed. "I'll grade you on how well you do."

Ranma nodded and began heading for the door, pulling out her phone in the process.

"Ranma-sama," Chachamaru-san called out as Ranma was unlocking her phone. "Head to the amphitheater in the Performing Arts District. The demons have set up their base there."

"Thanks," Ranma shouted back distractedly as she dialed Ucchan's number, hoping that she wasn't captured as well.

" _Ranchan?"_ The ninja swordswoman replied after a few rings. " _What's up?"_

"We have trouble, Ucchan. I need your help."

" _Tell me where to meet up."_

* * *

Ranma and Ucchan made good time to the amphitheater in the Performing Arts District and as they arrived they quickly surveyed the scene unfolding before them. Among the seats, Negi-sensei and the dog hanyou from the Kyoto Incident were fighting side by side against a demon in the guise of an elderly man and a trio of slimes in the shape of little girls. Over on the stage Asuna-san was tied up and suspended from the roof. Behind her trapped in a number of watery prisons shaped like bubbles were Konoka-san, Sakurazaki-san, Akashi-san, Nodoka-san, Asakura-san and Haruna.

_Why are all the girls naked except Asakura-san?_ Ranma couldn't help but wonder idly. _Are these demons perverts?_

"Why don't they just escape?" Ucchan asked with a frown. "Those water prisons hardly seem sturdy enough to keep them contained. A number of them are heavier hitters aren't they?"

"There must be a trick," Ranma said as she looked over the stage again trying to figure it out.

The answer revealed itself when Konoka attempted a _Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis_ (Magic Arrow, Light Series) only for it to fizzle out and Asuna to cry out in pain as a burst of crimson electricity surged out from an unfamiliar amulet hanging from her neck even as the healer apologized profusely for hurting her roommate.

_What is that amulet?_ Ranma thought as her eyes zeroed in on the piece of jewelry.

Nodoka-san tried a _Sagitta Magica, Series Ignis_ (Magic Arrows, Fire Series) and again the amulet shocked Asuna-san even as the spell fizzled out prematurely.

"That amulet is tapping into Asuna-san's anti-magic power," Ranma reasoned. "It's using it to drain all magical attempts by those inside the prison to escape."

"I think just saying it's tapping Asuna-san's power is an understatement Ranchan," Ucchan said with a shake of her head. "Look at her. She looks terrible. Those electric shocks have taken a heavy toll on her."

Ranma winced - How much pain tolerance did Asuna-san have? - and nodded before turning to assess Negi-sensei's fight. He and the dog boy were doing reasonably well. At least for their relative level of strength compared to their opponents. The slimes alone were probably on the same level as either of them. Add in the demon and they were just outclassed. Yet, somehow, the two boys were holding their own.

"They need help. Soon." Ucchan pointed out with a frown as she too eyed the fight. "They can't keep up for much longer. Someone needs to take some of the pressure off them."

"Agreed." Ranma said with a nod. "You or me?"

"You help out the boys. I should be strong enough to free our classmates." Ucchan said with a thoughtful frown. "That amulet seems to be negating magic but I think my _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ is probably able to destroy those bubbles even without having to use any ki enhancement thus completely getting around Asuna-san's Magic Cancel."

"Go for it." Ranma said after a moment's consideration.

"Be careful," Ucchan urged as she used her _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) to blur to the stage.

Ranma briefly considered the logic in saying that when she was about to intervene in a fight against some demons but quickly dismissed the notion. She had more important things to consider like how exactly she should intervene in the boys' fight. Eva-shishou wanted her to show some restraint in any intervention she made but how exactly was she going to do that?

_Those slimes…_ Ranma thought as zeroed in on the annoyances. They kept running interference whenever the boys tried to launch an attack on the demon. If she could take them out then the two might just manage to actually score a hit. Besides the demon himself was stronger than both of them combined as far as Ranma could tell based on her Origin Sight and observation of the fight, so would pose enough of a challenge for her fellow apprentice to spur his growth like Shishou intended.

_It's decided then. Taking out his minions is the best thing to do._

With that decision made, Ranma summoned her crossbow and Zero-chan.

"Mistress, we've got someone for me to kill?" The murderous doll asked excitedly as it hopped in place where it had materialized in the crook of Ranma's left arm and brandished a pair of wickedly sharp knives.

"Yeah, we're going after those slimes." Ranma informed her familiar whilst pointing at the three little girl shaped creatures with her crossbow.

"Oh, oh! I'll make 'em Jell-O! Then you and Old Mistress can have Jell-O shots!"

Ranma felt the urge to strangle the doll, but focused on the task at hand.

"Go. I'll cover you." Ranma said as she expertly tossed her familiar at the trio of slimes. " _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ (Magic Arrow, Dark Series)."

Using the spell she'd learned from Shishou, Ranma sent a brace of a hundred arrows of dark energy at the demon and his familiars, causing them to scatter thus covering her own doll's approach.

"Sensei! I'll take care of the slimes. You and dog boy deal with the demon!" Ranma shouted as she noted with satisfaction that her spell had successfully separated the enemies just like she wanted with the demon on one side and the slimes on another.

"Got it!" Negi-sensei shouted back as he charged the demon whilst visibly empowered by the magical enhancement of the _Cantus Bellax_ (Song of Battle) spell.

In contrast to Sensei, dog boy was a lot less professional in his reply.

"It's not dog boy! My name is Inugami Kotarō!"

"Whatever! Just fight!" Ranma retorted as she aimed at one of the slimes while Zero-chan swung her cleavers at it in a whirling dervish of death.

Sadly the doll seemed to have forgotten just what kind of opponent she was facing and the slime just let its body disintegrate into its true form and flowed around the attack unscathed.

"Stop slithering away ya dumb garbage pail gals!" Chachazero exclaimed.

It did however leave it open to an attack from Ranma herself which the mage happily exploited.

" _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow)." Ranma cast, sending a deadly worm of entropic energy to wrap itself around the distracted slime and eat away at its being.

The slime screamed in pain as it reformed itself into its little girl shape, the entropic worm clinging to its body like a boa constrictor as it ate its life away.

"What did you do to our sister!?" One of the other two slimes shouted as it hurled itself at Ranma only to be splattered into a thousand tiny globs as Zero-chan leapt into her like a rocket, swinging her blades around her wildly as she did. Cackling all the while.

The last slime tried to be sneaky and turned into a puddle to try to stealthily make its way behind Ranma for a sneak attack. The redhead was no fool however and her keen _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura) enhanced eyes easily spotted it.

" _Sagitta Senium_." Ranma cast with a feral grin as she subjected yet another victim to the sadistic fate of having its existence being eaten away and causing yet another pain filled scream to echo within the confines of the amphitheater battleground.

_Maybe I'm taking after Shishou too much._ Ranma thought as she shot a third _Sagitta Senium_ at the last of the slimes even as the thing turned to flee. _Nah. They're my enemies. Enjoying their suffering is totally okay. Shishou said that was par for the course._

* * *

"Holy shit! Since when can the little redhead do something like that?" Kotarō-kun asked as _everyone_ froze in shock at the sound of the slimes' screams as Ranma-san unleashed her sadistic side on them.

"A while." Negi replied.

"Damn, remind me to stay on that girl's good side." The dog eared boy whistled.

"Truly a monster in the making." The demon said, shuddering as he looked at Ranma-san with dread. "So this is her _before_ her ascension? I can see how she became what she did."

"Like you have room to talk!" Negi shouted defiantly as he used _Fulguratio Albicans_ (White Lightning) to fire a powerful blast of electricity from his palm that knocked the demon back.

"You might be wearing a disguise but I still recognize who you are!" Negi shouted, anger allowing him to shake off his instinctual fear caused by the slimes' still echoing screams that were now joined by Zero-chan's maniacal cackling and her mistress' disturbing giggling.

_I am_ so _going to have to talk to Ranma-san about her sadistic tendencies when this is over._ A distant part of Negi's mind made a mental reminder even as he unleashed an overpowered _Vente_ (Wind) spell to conjure a blast of wind that slammed the demon into a wall.

"You're the demon that petrified my hometown!" Negi roared as he used _Iaculatio Fulgoris_ (Lightning Spears) to launch a half dozen electrically charged magical javelins that impaled the demon and pinned him to the stage.

"Really? Which one was that? There were so many little hamlets I roamed through over the years." The demon said with a hearty chuckle, completely ignoring its current state.

"You know the one!" Negi insisted as he cast _Dios Tukos_ (Axe of Lightning) and made a downward-sweeping motion that caused a massive electrical attack to strike the demon.

"Old Man Stein!" Negi said as he repeated the spell.

"Anya's parents!" Again.

"The Parkers!" And again.

"Tim, Paul, James, Beatrice! They were children!" Panting now, Negi changed tack and switched to another brace of _Iaculatio Fulgoris_. He didn't want the monster to get free after all.

"Hurting Nekane-nee-san!" Negi shouted as he unleashed yet another _Dios Tukos_.

"All of them, good friendly people who did nothing to you!" Negi screamed hoarsely as he finally ran out of steam and took a step back from the pinned demon whilst struggling to catch his breath. "Why? Why do monsters like you have to exist?! If you enjoy the suffering of others so much, let's see how you like it! Just return to the void, you devil!"

"Uh, Negi? You alright?" Kotarō-kun asked warily as he looked at Negi like he was some dangerous animal.

"I'm fine," Negi told the half-demon with a pant. "I just, just needed to get all that off my chest."

Kotarō-kun just nodded stiltedly and looked between Negi and the still darkly giggling Ranma-san whilst looking pale.

"You two totally _are_ the Dark Evangel's apprentices."

"We demons actually like taking it as much as we enjoy giving it to be honest." The demon said suddenly, sounding completely unfazed by all the punishment it had been subjected to.

Negi spun around immediately to look at the demon only to find it snapping the lightning javelins keeping it pinned like they were toothpicks even as its form shifted. Gone was the guise of a elderly gentleman and in its place was a gargoyle with a cartoonish face whose head sported a pair of curving horns.

"Shit!" Kotarō-kun cursed. "Just how much damage can this guy take before he's unsummoned!?"

" **A lot more than what you two have dealt me so far."** The demon said with a chuckle. " **To be honest I'm disappointed. It seems the weakest of the Dark Evangel's apprentices is the deadliest. What an irony."**

"The redhead is the _weakest_!?" Kotarō-kun shouted incredulously.

" **But the deadliest."** The demon reiterated as it pointed to Ranma-san which had finally stopped her giggling and was now eyeing their little fight with a hungry look that spoke volumes of how much she wished to join in.

"Need help?" Ranma-san asked sounding flippant but there was a dark edge to her question.

"No," Negi declared flatly. "This thing is _mine_."

"Uh, should I stay out of this too?" Kotarō-kun asked as he stepped away from Negi cautiously.

" **If you would be so kind, hanyou child."** The demon asked almost politely. " **I and the son of the Thousand Master have unfinished business."**

"So you _do_ remember me," Negi said with a glare even as he finally noticed that his students had seemingly freed themselves from the water prisons.

The demon just smirked and opened his mouth, within which an ominously familiar glow was already building.

* * *

Even as Ranchan dithered on what to do, Ukyo blurred onto the stage of the amphitheater with her sword poised to cut Asuna-san free.

"Kuonji-san! No!" Sakurazaki-san shouted in warning. "Watch out."

Ukyo heeded the warning and seconds before her blade would have cut through the ropes keeping the Magic Canceling orangette suspended from the roof, she blurred away. She thus narrowly avoided getting caught in the middle of a magical circle from which bolts of electricity arced violently as it summoned a lightning elemental with the form of a white and blue wolf.

"Is that an honest to gods Raijū!?" Ukyo asked absently as she casually evaded a lightning bolt it barked her way with a burst of _Shinsoku_. "'Cos if it is then I'm outclassed."

"Relax Kuonji-san!" Sakurazaki-san shouted from inside her bubble prison. "It is but it's a low level one. It's only as powerful as a low level demon or mid level yokai. You can take it."

"I sure hope you're right about that Sakurazaki-san." Ukyo replied as she used _Shinsoku_ to evade another bolt the lightning wolf barked her way. "If not and I die here I'm coming back to haunt you for the rest of your life!"

Probably deciding that its ranged attacks weren't landing, the Raijū leapt at Ukyo in a tackle.

Using _Shinsoku_ she moved out of the way of the creature's lightning speed tackle, even as she did though Ukyo lashed out with a _Ryūkansen: Tsumuji_ (Dragon Coil Flash: Hair Whirl) and unleashed a forward horizontal spin in a drilling motion like a torpedo. Her blade cut deep into the Raijū and Ukyo had to grit her teeth as electricity coursed through her body.

"It negated my ki," Ukyo said as she used _Shinsoku_ to blur away. "My attack still hit but…"

"Yeah, that happens." Kagurazaka-san said as she panted from the latest shock that the amulet had given her. "Also, ow."

"Sorry." Ukyo said as she blurred away to dodge another lightning tackle.

"Kuonji-san! Without ki to insulate you, stick to ranged attacks." Sakurazaki-san suggested from her watery prison.

_How was she not choking? Ponder on that later!_ Ukyo thought, blinking in confusion. _Though ranged attacks? My shinobi techniques aren't powerful enough to cut it… I don't really have many that would… It has to be…_

" _Doryūsen_ (Land Dragon Flash)!" Ukyo shouted as she struck the ground and sent earthen debris flying at the Raijū.

Much to Ukyo's consternation, the damned elemental creature transformed into lightning and snaked its way through all the earthen missiles.

"That cheating- This is going to hurt." Ukyo said with a grimace as she used _Shinsoku_ to evade the tackle and then dashed towards the Raijū as it rematerialized into its true form.

An ear piercing scream filled her ears, but she ignored it in favor of attacking her foe.

" _Kuzuryūsen_ (Nine-Head Dragon Flash)!" The kunoichi swordswoman cried as she used her _Shinsoku_ to simultaneously strike nine of the creature's vital spots. Or what would be its vital spots if it was a normal wolf, Ukyo didn't know enough about elemental physiology to be sure if they were the same but she also didn't care.

The backlash from her attack sent a surge of electricity coursing through her body but Ukyo fought through the pain and the spasming muscles to use _Shinsoku_ to leap away from the visibly wounded Raijū.

_Really wish I could use my ki but beggars can't be choosers._

"Ukyo-san!" Asuna-san cried out worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"As good as I can be," Ukyo said with a frown. "Any ideas what that screaming is about?"

"Uh, Ranma-san is being a sadist?" The orangette said warily as both Ukyo and her monstrous opponent took a break to recover from their latest exchange.

"I guess Ranchan is having fun." Ukyo said with a smirk, one that grew wider even as two more screams joined the first. "Good. She deserves it."

"Anyone have any ideas?" Ukyo shouted for help as she used _Shinsoku_ to evade a lightning bolt barked her way as the Raijū recovered enough to once more go on the offensive. "Ranchan? Sakurazaki-san? Anyone?"

"Give me a sec!" Ranchan took a break from her dark giggling to call out. "I need to find something! Got it! Keep the Raijū busy!"

"Got it!" Ukyo shouted back as she unleashed another _Doryūsen_ at the lightning wolf that it once more easily avoided.

Ukyo had expected that though and used a _Ryūmeisen_ (Dragon Cry Flash) to sheathe her sword rather than to draw it using her _Shinsoku_. The speed and force of the move created a miniature sonic boom that sent the lightning bolt that the Raijū had become as it charged her to shoot away from her with a pained whine.

As Ukyo kept the Raijū distracted, a crossbow bolt shot at Kagurazaka-san with precision. It shot off and shattered the Magic Cancel tapping amulet that the orangette had been forced to wear, without so much as touching her skin.

"Gah!" Kagurazaka-san screeched but soon let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed in her restraints. "At least she's a good shot."

"I'm more surprised that she even has actual physical bolts." Ukyo said absently as she readied to finish off her opponent now that the odds were evened by her having access to her ki.

"Time to end this, wolfy." Ukyo said with a bloodthirsty grin.

* * *

"The amulet is done! Nodoka-chan it's time to break out!" Ojou-sama said encouragingly from her prison. "Use the most powerful spell you can."

"Right!" The bibliophile shouted back eagerly as she brandished the wand she'd managed to smuggle on her person.

Considering she was naked and captured with everyone else in the bathhouse, Setsuna honestly wondered how the girl had managed that but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis_ (Magic Arrow, Light Series)!" Ojou-sama cast even as Nodoka-chan copied her with a _Sagitta Magica, Series Ignis_ (Magic Arrows, Fire Series).

Together dozens of magic arrows, some of light and others of fire, shot out of the two mages' watery prisons bursting the bubbles and proceeded to do the same for the others' as well.

Freed from her cell, Setsuna fell to the ground but hastily got to her feet before stumbling over to Ojou-sama and helped her up.

"Just give me a second." Ojou-sama said as she panted and knit her brow. Her body suddenly gave off a white light as magic coiled around her before chunks of it broke away, shooting into Setsuna's body.

As Ojou-sama's magic visibly poured into her body, Setsuna felt it become supercharged. Not only had even the faintest hint of fatigue faded from it but every nerve and muscle felt like they were operating at 120% efficiency, maybe better!

"Go cut Asuna free and help Kuonji-san." Ojou-sama ordered as she collapsed into a sitting position. "Go Set-chan, go!"

"Hai, Kono-chan!" Setsuna replied dutifully even as she shot Ojou-sama one last worried look before turning to point at the ropes keeping Asuna-san bound. " _Zankūshō-San_ (Air-Cutting Palm, Scatter)."

At her invocation, multiple ki projectiles shot from her fingers like bullets and shredded the ropes, freeing the Magic Canceller.

"Thanks for that Setsuna-san," Asuna-san as she pulled the ropes free from her wrists. "But Ukyo-san might need some he-"

The thought was proved unnecessary though.

" _Yōkainagashiryū_ (Apparition Banishing Dragon)!" Ukyo shouted as she evaded a storm of lightning the Raijū was shooting with her _Shinsoku_ and pulled off a battōjutsu move so fast that even Setsuna's well trained eyes were unable to track her blade.

Said move unleashed a ki wave filled with anti-spirit energy that proceeded to cut the Raijū in half, dispeling it from this plane of existence.

"Or not. Man I wish I could do that." Asuna-san pouted as she used an arm to cover her chest.

"Don't worry, I'll help you catch up." Setsuna said with a small smile.

"You better!" The orangette grinned tiredly.

Kounji-san stood for a moment with her sword at the ready, checking to make sure her opponent was truly gone. When a minute passed and there was no sign of the lightning wolf she let out a sigh or relief before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.

"Gotta work on that a little more," the kunoichi swordswoman said between deep breaths. "That took a lot more out of me than it should have."

Looking at the two remaining fights, Setsuna wondered which to join. Well, there was really only one fight left since Ranma-san already had her opponents at her mercy. As for Negi-sensei...

"Uh, I don't really feel like getting caught up in that. You?" Asuna-san asked as they both looked at their usually personable Sensei unleash his fury on his demonic opponent in repeated bursts of electricity.

_If even Asuna-san with her magical immunity is leery…_

"Leave him to it," Kuonji-san said as she stumbled over. "He needs to vent. The two have history if half the banter they were throwing at each other is true."

"Yeah…" Setsuna managed with a wince at the sight of her enraged Sensei.

"Let's go check up on Konoka and the others." Asuna-san said as she turned to their friends. "If Negi does need help I'm sure Ranma-san will step in. She's in better condition to do so than us anyways."

Setsuna reluctantly nodded and followed the orangette's lead as they turned back to the other former prisoners.

* * *

As the real fight with the demon began, Negi found himself having to use his newly learned _Shundō_ (Instant Movement) to evade the beam it spat from its mouth. Though considering he'd barely been able to use it at all during training and was now pulling it off perfectly, he counted that as a win.

As he came to a stop from his high speed movement however, he was shocked to find the demon waiting for him and lashing out at him with its claws. It was only the heightened reflexes granted him by _Cantus Bellax_ that allowed him to leap back just in time to narrowly evade being gutted.

" **Good reflexes. But it's not enough."** The demon taunted as with a flap of its wings it sent bolts of dark energy streaking through the air towards Negi. " **You stand no chance against me unless you use that one spell you've been working on all this time."**

"How do you know about that!?" Negi shouted in surprise as he once more used _Shundō_ to escape certain death.

Much to his chagrin, the demon was waiting for him again as he came to a stop this time lashing out with its petrifying beam. Thankfully this particular spell wasn't exactly quick firing and Negi managed to pull off another _Shundō_ in time to avoid it.

" **Your obsession with it is quite infamous, boy. All demons and other spirits susceptible to it are quite aware of it."** The demon said as it swept its arms through the air in the direction where Negi had fled, using the motion to fire off dozens of blades of darkness that tore up the amphitheater and which the boy mage barely avoided.

"I'm honoured then," Negi shot back, falling back on what Shishou would say in the situation since he was drawing blanks for another reply. "But _that_ spell isn't for the likes of you. It's to save my father. Not for revenge. Besides I'll beat you without it. _Iaculatio Fulgoris_!"

Dozens of electrically charged magical javelins shot at the demon but the damned monster just intercepted them with a barrage of its own shadow bolts.

" **And how will you manage that, boy?"**

"With this!" Negi declared confidently as he pulled out the Demon-sealing Bottle. With the amulet that drained Asuan-san's Magic Cancel abilities to protect itself destroyed, the demon was now no longer protected from its effects and began to be sucked into the magic item.

"Good move, Springfield!" Kotarō-kun praised from where he was watching the battle from the sidelines ever since he'd stepped back.

The demon did not react as expected however and broke out into laughter even as it was sucked in. Moving with disturbing nonchalance, it simply turned its head towards the magic item before breathing its petrifying beam at the bottle which much to Negi's shock destroyed it.

" **You thought I would let it seal me a second time?"** The demon said as it flew up into the air to hover ominously over the battlefield. " **The only reason it worked the first time was because I didn't notice when it was pulled out. If I** _ **had**_ **, I would've destroyed it like I did just now."**

" _Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens_ (Jupiter's Storm Of Thunder)" Negi roared in lieu of a reply, unleashing a massive storm of destructive energy on the demon who was too distracted by shaking off the effects of the Demon-sealing Bottle to properly evade.

"And you're a fool to think that was all to my plan." Negi declared triumphantly as the demon crashed out of the storm and landed in a crater, its body smoking from being subjected to the spell's fury.

" _Dios Tukos_ ," Negi cast just in case, sending one last attack at the downed demon even as he walked over to it.

As he approached, Negi saw that the demon had reverted to its human guise and was smoking from the electrical damage done to him.

"Ha haha." The demon chuckled as dark ichor spilled from his mouth and his body began to crumble into dust. "I will tell you something, Negi Springfield. My attack on your home? I never had a choice. The foul Mage held a tight leash, just so you know. On both me and my fellows."

"The Mage?" Negi hissed angrily. "Why does everything revolve back to him."

"Outsiders always make everything about them." The demon said as the crumbling began to consume his head. "It's in their natu-"

"Outsider? What's an Outsider?" Kotarō-kun asked, but Negi ignored him. He was too gripped by anger at the Mage of the Beginning to pay attention to the small details.

* * *

Even as the greater demon was sent back to whatever hell had spawned it, Ranma turned her attention to the still present slimes. The creatures were writhing in agony and screaming their non-existent throats raw, which the redhead had to admit was actually quite melodious to her ears.

"So, any last words?" Ranma asked, aiming her crossbow at the three weakened slime sisters.

They were still writhing on the ground from the corrosive worm arrows eating away at their existence. Making quite a sight in Ranma's admittedly warped opinion.

"N-No! Please! W-We'll be good! We can join you!" The red slime begged, big tears welling up on her chibi face.

Ranma cocked a brow at them. "And I should trust you why?"

"Yeah! Mistress' already got me. Why would she need a bunch of slimes?" Zero-chan asked while haughtily crossing her arms over her chest.

"W-We're really useful!" The green one protested. "We can do all kinds of things a solid object can't!"

"We stretch, we melt, grow, shrink and can mold our polymorphic bodies into whatever shape we want." The sullen blue one whimpered. "We are really good shapeshifters too."

"Some slime scouts do sound useful." Ranma admitted, making Zero-chan twist to look at her.

"Wha?! But Mistress! Dolls are so much better!"

"Yes but slimes are expendable." The redhead smiled wickedly, much like her Shishou.

"...True." Zero-chan smiled wickedly in return.

"...I don't feel confident in this!" The red one cried out.

"Congrats slime girls, you're my familiars now." Ranma informed the three, who gulped in unison. "Let's be the best of friends! Now use a geis to swear your allegiance."

"We swear our fealty to the mage Ranma Saotome," the slimes shouted in unison. "We swear to serve her dutifully as her familiars from this day to her last on pain of our deaths. So mote it be!"

Each of the three slimes glowed for a moment before a beam shot from their bodies to attach itself to Ranma like a leash, magically binding them to her as familiars. Only when the magical connection settled nicely in her mind did Ranma snap her fingers and dismiss her _Sagitta Senium_ worms much to the audible relief of the three slimes.

"Onee-sama!" Haruna cried out happily as she ran up to her, hugging her tightly with her naked body. Shrugging off her coat, Ranma put it around her sister. Considering how Haruna was more than a head taller than her, it did little to cover her up but as the older sister she had a duty to at least _try_ to protect her sister's modesty!

"You got more minions!" Haruna added, ignoring Ranma's efforts and bouncing excitedly up and down, causing her boobs to do things that had the redhead blushing brilliantly on the oblivious greenette's behalf.

"Yep." Ranma squeaked, knowing better than to point out Haruna's nakedness. It would just lead to her sister teasing her about being a prude she was sure.

"So can I borrow them some time?" Haruna asked with puppy eyes. "I have so many ideas for slimes!"

The slimes in question recoiled at the notion and huddled together fearfully.

"...Maybe." Ranma said concomitantly, causing the already shaken slimes to shiver in terror.

"Score!"

* * *

Eva sat on a high backed chair in her resort the day after the hoo-ha with the demon and slimes, her glasses on as she eyed her students and their allies - including Kuonji this time - sternly. The clipboard with papers on which she had been taking notes clutched to her breast tightly.

"And that's what happened, Shishou." Negi-boya said as he finished his report.

"Is that so?" Eva asked with narrowed eyes that had the boy teacher sweating nervously. "Ranma! Is what he says true?"

"Yes Eva-Shishou!" The redhead said from next to her as they cuddled together on the chair. Their child like bodies making it possible.

Eva felt warmth blossom in her undead chest and she snuggled closer to the other girl.

"This really the best time?" The annoyance that was Kagurazaka grumbled.

"Any time is cuddle time, Asuna-san." Ranma's sister chided quietly.

"It's _not_ cuddle time." Eva insisted. She readily ignored the doubtful looks. "Ranma is just a little tired after feeding me. I'm just keeping her close to look out for her!"

"Of course." Konoka nodded in agreement. "Next time I suggest a lap pillow. It's super effective."

Eva filed that for future use.

"And whose fault is it that you almost drunk her dry again?" Her crush's sister said with a knowing grin. "Was someone looking for an excuse to cuddle? After all, couldn't Konoka-san just heal Onee-sama?"

"Haruna, stop teasing Shishou." Ranma chided tiredly. "You know Konoka-san is pretty much running on empty herself and has lessons with the Kantō association healers after this. She can't waste her remaining magic on something trivial like this."

"I wouldn't mind actually." Konoka said looking at Ranma worriedly especially as the redhead almost fell off the chair and Eva had to catch her. "You do look a little under the weather. I'm sure my other Senseis won't mind if I show up a little low on magic."

"No, it's fine." Ranma reassured her. "Shishou will take care of me."

"I'm sure." Haruna said, rolled her eyes teasingly. "Just don't do anything I need to call Mama and Touchan for. I'm too young to be an aunt!"

"What's going on in your head?!" Eva exclaimed, cheeks red as she threw her clipboard at the girl in fury. "Get it out of that gutter, you pervert!"

"Talking about lewd gutters," Asakura said cutting into the conversation with a raised hand. "Anyone want to tell me why our enemies like attacking us in the baths? I mean they did it in Kyoto and they did it again this time too! I escaped it _this_ time but what about the next time!?"

"People tend to let down their guard in the baths," Miyazaki, of all people, supplied albeit hesitantly. "It was a smart move."

"Yeah but-"

"As much as I hate to say it, I've gotta agree with Honya-chan on this one." Kagurazaka said with an annoyed shake of her head. "We've just gotta deal."

"You did not just say that!" Akashi said as she facepalmed.

"What? What did I do?"

"You just volunteered the lot of you for training sessions in the buff." Eva informed them with a predatory grin. "After all, you want to be prepared for the next time the enemy catches you lot with your panties down, right?"

"Shishou! May I train separately, please?" Negi-boya begged.

"Would you run away from a fight if your allies were naked?" Eva asked with a shark-like grin. "You didn't back at that lake in Kyoto, after all."

Sakurazaki blushed at that and Konoka wrapped her girlfriend in a possessive hug, but the best reaction was still the boya's as he sputtered in embarrassment.

"O-Of course not!"

"Then you train with the rest of us," Ranma declared with finality as she rested her tired head on Eva's shoulder. "Ucchan too, Shishou?"

Eva looked towards the kunoichi who nodded even as she shot her a hard glare.

_Message received. Hurt Ranma and die._ Eva thought as nodded back to her crush's best friend while patting the sleepy redhead cuddled against her on the head lightly.

"It's efficient. So why not."

There were groans of resignation and disappointment at that but no one else complained, so Eva took that as a win.

"Well skedaddle kids, go back to your dorms and rest. We have new drills for tomorrow!" Eva dismissed her gaggle of children.

"Skedaddle!? Really Eva-san?" Akashi-san said with a giggle as they all stood and dispersed. "Are you showing your age or what?"

Eva glared but Ranma just hugged her and her anger melted away.

"Bye Shishou," the redhead whispered into the nape of Eva's neck, causing her to stiffen.

"B-Bye Ranma," Eva replied as best as she was able as the redhead slipped off the chair they were sharing and joined her sister and best friend as they departed.

Eva barely acknowledged the rest of the farewells, a little too preoccupied with the way the feel of Ranma's breath on her skin was replaying in her head and causing her panties to get a little damp.

"Master, the others have left." Chachamaru said a few minutes later, pulling Eva from her fantasies. "Should I prepare a bath for you? Or maybe get your toy chest?"

Blushing like a schoolgirl, Eva shot her doll partner a glare.

"Not a word!" The vampire hissed as she stalked towards the resort's interior. "And get my toys. I'll be in my bedroom."

"As you command, Master." The gynoid said with a respectful nod and what might have been the barest hint of an amused smile.

Eva didn't care if it was. Right now all she wanted was some alone time with her toys and some recordings of her delectable apprentice. She was a mature woman with needs dammit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, a deluxe chapter! Been a while since we did one of these. Still, we make such detailed notes we managed this out in a single day! Goes to show notes makes all the difference. Now we hoped we changed up the fight to be exciting enough for you guys. The slimes got more action this time and now are forced minions, the best kinds of minions.
> 
> Nameless: Hope you guys caught the one foreshadowing line Wilhelm dropped about Ranma's future. It isn't much but it does hint at where we intend for her to go. A path on which the gathering of minions like the Slime Sisters is a step in the right direction. Speaking of being on the right track, Nodoka and Konoka have started to shine as mages haven't they? At least in contrast to their canon counterparts at this point in the story. Well, expect this trend to continue. By the end of this story, we intend for them to be absolute badasses.
> 
> Ranma though, yikes, that sadistic streak is clear as day. No wonder Eva needed some alone time. Yikes! As for the rest of the gals, I hope we showed them off doing their own thing and how they handle stuff. Konoka was the most fun I think, she has so much untapped potential.
> 
> Nameless: Talking about untapped potential. Yes, we had Ukyo develop a new technique for the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. Considering the power and supernatural nature of her opponents, even the fabled manslaying sword style needs an addition here or there for her to keep up. Besides, what better way for her to make it her own than to experiment and improve on it?
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	23. The Chisame Effect II - Electric BoogaChiu

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Three: The Chisame Effect II - Electric BoogaChiu**

**Beta:**

* * *

The day after the incident with the demonic invasion of campus, Ranma found herself spending her lunch with Hasegawa-san in an out of the way park of the expansive Negima campus to chat.

As they sat down and Ranma opened her bento, Hasegawa-san pulled out her phone.

"Thank the gods that the Academy has the entirety of its grounds covered with wifi."

"Why's that important?" Ranma asked after swallowing the rice she'd been eating. It was bad manners, especially for a girl, to talk with her mouth full after all.

Hasegawa-san showed Ranma her phone. By the look of things, she was uploading something over the internet.

"I'm syncing something with my servers back in my dorm." Hasegawa-san explained proudly.

Ranma just nodded slowly, lost as to what Chisame could be working on.

"Though as convenient things are... I swear, things in our school can be so weird too. I mean look at what happened in Kyoto! The sheer ridiculousness of that whole stupid kissing pillow fight thingy just makes me want to pull my hair out. Freaking Asakura." Hasegawa-san complained.

Ranma tensed a little at the mention of the trip. She nevertheless nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, it was pretty weird."

"It's more than weird! Things just don't add up. I'm telling you, things ain't right."

Ranma shrugged helplessly, "I hear you, but I can't figure it out for the life of me."

_Please buy that… I really don't want to lie. Or worse manipulate your memory._

"Aw man, really?" Hasegawa-san pouted, shoulders slumping in disappointment. "I was hoping you'd be able to help me figure it out. You're stupidly smart after all."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't think I'll be much help on the strange. Even with me studying occult stuff. Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Not like it's your fault." Hasegawa-san waved off as she went back to her lunch.

"So is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"No," Hasegawa-san said with a shake of her head. "What I _really_ wanted to talk about is Negi-sensei!"

With that declaration, the cosplayer began an epic rant on how Negi-sensi had been bugging her lately.

_He's been that involved with her? I don't think he's done so many things for his other students. Is it because she's his favorite? Or is there more to it..._

"- And every time I'm skipping, he shows up to check on me as if I'm always sick now! It's so annoying."

"Um, he's an earnest kid?" Ranma suggested halfheartedly. "To be honest, I actually find it kinda sweet to have such a caring teacher."

At the mention, a stray thought brought Genma to mind and a dark look involuntarily spread across her face.

"Hey, you alright?" Hasegawa-san asked, giving her a concerned look.

"I'm fine." Ranma said as she shook her head to dismiss her dark thoughts. "So! I have to ask, but do you still find Negi-sensei to be that annoying?"

Hasegawa-san grumbled and let out a sigh. "I mean, the one time I was actually sick he helped me out. So I guess he isn't _that_ annoying."

"Aw, that was nice of him." Ranma smiled and giggled at the grumpy look on her friend's face.

"Well, yeah, it was. I guess he's growing on me." Hasegawa-san stuck her tongue out. "Like a fungus. He's still some bratty kid to me though."

Ranma could only smile at that, making Hasegawa-san give her an irked look.

"Stop smiling."

* * *

Whilst the two friends were chatting over lunch, their homeroom teacher and the subject of their conversation, Negi-sensei was in the Dean's office helping the elderly master mage as he interrogated Kotarō.

"So why should I allow you to reside in Mahora, Kotarō-kun?" The leader of the Kanto Magic Association asked as he leveled a stern look at the dog half-demon.

"Uh, I helped Negi with that petrifying demon?"

"Is that true Negi-sensei?" The Dean asked, looking away from Kotarō to glance at Negi.

"He did, Dean-sama." Negi confirmed. "He was very helpful."

The old man hummed thoughtfully at that before frowning.

"Even so that's not good enough." He declared. "It does however help your case. Kotarō-kun could you tell me why you chose to escape from your imprisonment in Kansai and came to Mahora in the first place?"

Kotarō winced before he replied. "I, uh, wanted to find Negi for a rematch. Negi is the only person I've ever met of my own age who can fight with me on even terms so I consider Negi a rival."

Negi blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that.

"I see," the Dean said as he ran his hand over his beard as he thought over the matter. "Negi-sensei, what do you think?"

"In my opinion, Kotarō's assistance against the petrifying demon makes up, at least partially, for his involvement in the Kyoto Incident."

The Dean continued stroking his beard for a long moment before giving voice to his thoughts. "Kotarō-kun's punishment was community service anyways, there really is no reason for him to _have_ to serve it with the Kansai Association."

"Wouldn't that cause trouble with Eishun-sama?" Negi asked worriedly.

"I don't see why." The Dean said with a shrug. "We _are_ taking a troublemaker out of his hands. I'd imagine my son-in-law would be thankful rather than upset over it. That being the case, Inugami-san?"

"Yes?" Kotarō said, snapping to attention.

"Would you prefer to serve your punishment here in Mahora?"

The half-demon shot Negi a look before replying.

"Here Konoe-sama." The canine boy said with confidence.

"Very well," the Dean said with a decisive nod. "Now Inugami-san stay, I will need you to fill up some documentation. Negi-sensei, you are dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

With a polite bow, Negi exited the Dean's office.

He was barely out of the doors when Chamo, who was waiting outside the office, climbed up Negi's shoulder and said. "Hey, Aniki. I found out where that cosplaying girl is."

"Thank you, Chamo-kun."

"Not that I ain't proud of you chasing some girl, but why are ya looking for this one?" The ermine asked curiously.

"I just wanted to check up on her. She rarely breaks her usual routine, but since she is doing so today, I wanted to find out why."

"If you say so," Chamo said with a nod and a knowing smirk.

* * *

Back with Chisame and Ranma, the two girls were taking a break from their chatting to enjoy their food when suddenly Negi appeared out of nowhere. He literally jumped out of a bush nearby, giving them both a slight scare.

_How the hell did he know where we were!?_ Ranma thought as she stilled her runaway heart. As she did she noticed Chamo on his shoulder and figured things out.

_That blasted ermine spirit guided him here didn't he? He probably sweet talked the brat into scaring us too._ Ranma concluded as she glared at the fairy. _I am so gonna get you back for this, you perverted fae._

"Ugh! Looks like our spot is compromised, Ranma-san." Hasegawa-san said, sounding annoyed even as she hastily smothered a half formed smile.

Ranma smirked at her friend's tsundere attitude and turned to address the brat.

"Negi-sensei, what brings you here?"

"Sorry for scaring you two." Negi-sensei with an apologetic bow. "I just wanted to check on Hasegawa-san. It's not often she goes out of her way to eat outside of the dorm cafeteria, so I was concerned."

"How do you know this?!"

"I, uh, keep track of all my students." Negi replied as he nervously adjusted his collar.

"That's impossible and you know it!"

_Not quite. Not when you have a dedicated spy like a certain weasel._ Ranma thought as she eyed Chamo with a glare.

_Though if I'm reading the cues right… Oh! Negi is really growing up, isn't he?_ Ranma noted with amusement.

Keeping her cool despite her epiphany, Ranma slyly asked, "Negi-sensei, would you like to join us?"

Hasegawa-san looked annoyed at this, if the look the petite redhead got was anything to go by.

"Sensei's walked all the way over here. It's only polite to invite him to stay awhile." Ranma told her friend.

Hasegawa-san's grumpy look lifted, just a bit. Looking over at their boyish Sensei, the bespectacled girl asked, "So what are you going to eat, Negi-Sensei?"

Smiling, Ranma solved that problem.

"He can have my bento. I'll grab a snack later. Just let me grab a few more bites."

Shoveling down a few more clumps of rice and one of the fried shrimp from her bento, Ranma handed the boxed lunch over to Negi-sensei.

"I have something to check up with Haruna anyway." She said before either of the others could say anything. "See you two around. Bye!"

Before Hasegawa-san or Negi could protest, Ranma sprinted away but not before she and Chamo shared a knowing look.

* * *

**Omake: Ranma and Chiu**

"So you want me to do this for ditching you with Negi-sensei the other day?" Ranma asked with an amused grin as she watched her classmate fiddle with her recording equipment in the little home studio she'd set up inside her dorm room.

"Yes," Hasegawa-san hissed. "Do you know how bloody awkward having lunch with him was? In repayment of that, having you help me with my latest Chiu photoshoot is the least you can do."

"Well, I don't mind." Ranma said as she looked down at the frilly dress that Hasegawa-san had gotten her to wear. "But this dress is kinda conservative for this type of thing."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hasegawa-san said, shooting her a confused look. "That's the cutest dress I could find in your size."

"Is it?" Ranma replied with a smirk as she walked over to the garment bag she'd brought along. "Well, I can do better."

Opening it, she revealed that it contained an even more frilly, over the top, gothic lolita dress than the one she was already wearing.

Chisame was speechless and could only stare in open mouthed shock.

"I like dressing up." Ranma confessed with a dimpled smile.

Hasegawa-san's glasses held a glare to them as she gave her two big thumbs up.

* * *

In Eva's Cottage, the bored vampire was mindlessly surfing the internet and decided to check up on Chiu's channel to see if Hasegawa had uploaded anything new. That crazy cosplay girl's streams were always good for some mindless entertainment. Just watching her act so out of character was amusing.

Today though Eva was shocked when she saw that Hasegawa's latest video included not only her but also Ranma as well! With the latter dressed in the frilliest dress she'd _ever_ seen

_And looking absolutely ravishing._ Eva thought to herself unconsciously as she wiped some drool from the corner of her mouth.

How she just wanted to pull at those ribbons.

"I totally have to convince her to dress up more." She said absently, her eyes glued to the screen of her laptop. "If she looks half as good in a proper dress… Wait! That's a bad idea! What if someone else sees her like that and thinks the same way?"

"Master, what are you talking about?" Chachamaru asked, as she poked her head curiously out of the kitchen where she was making dinner.

Eva closed the laptop quickly, "Nothing! Just plotting how to uh, torture someone. You know. Boring stuff."

Chachamaru sported a disbelieving look but didn't contest her story and returned to her cooking.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Eva reopened her laptop and quickly got back onto Hasegawa's stream. There was no way she was going to miss a second of her adorable apprentice's screen time if she could help it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, a nice light chapter to get back into the swing of things. Personally, Chisame continues to entertain with her need for normalcy and Ranma trying to be a matchmaker it seems. Her and Chisame just have cute chemistry as friends and I love it. Kind of wholesome.
> 
> Nameless: So this is the first chapter in a series of filler chapters leading up to the Mahora Festival and all the madness that's going to happen then. Most of them are likely to be a bit on the short side, like this one, hope you guys don't mind.
> 
> We have Kotaro enrolled now, serving out his punishment. We have some ideas for him, like how we do with a lot of characters. So stay tuned!
> 
> Nameless: So lastly, kuriboh1233 mentioned in their review of the last chapter that it was confusing to see Ranma disapprove of Pactios and yet readily effectively enslave the Slime Sisters. This is a case of Ranma walking down the dark path, as it were. I would've thought that her creepy laughter as she tormented them was clue enough of that. In light of that, what's a little hypocrisy, right?
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	24. Yue Joins the Gang

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Four: Yue Joins the Gang**

**Beta:**

* * *

"Where are they going?" Yue whispered to herself as she peeked around a tree at the group of her classmates she was secretly following.

Just ahead of her on the path through one of Mahora's many on campus parks were Nodoka, Haruna and the new clique of their classmates led by Negi-sensei himself that her friends were hanging out with lately.

_Is that a log cabin!?_ Yue asked, blinking in confusion as the group apparently reached their destination. _Why the hell is there something like that on campus?_

Shaking her head at the distracting thought, she focused on what was important: figuring out why her best friends had stopped hanging out with her lately.

It had started during the Kyoto trip when they'd not only not been in the same group but hadn't even hung out with her in their free time! Things had progressively gotten worse from there as they have been acting strangely ever since. They've been spending less and less time with her lately.

She had wanted to confront them about it but she wanted to know why they were doing so first. Hence the stalking.

_Where is this place? Am I hearing right, McDowell-san and Karakuri-san live here?_ Yue blinked in confusion as she snuck a little closer to the cabin, hearing some disjointed snippets of her classmates' conversation in the process. _I know they don't live in the dorms we do, but why would they have their own house out here? And why would they be living together? I know they're close but_ this _close?_

As the whole gaggle of girls walked into the house, Yue shook her head. _Now's not the time to get distracted by tangential mysteries. Focus Yue! You're here to figure what's up with Nodoka and Haruna!_

With that in mind she sneaked her way towards the cabin and as silently as she could, made her way up the stairs of its front porch with the intent to peek in through its front windows. As she made it onto the veranda though, she noticed that the front door was ajar.

_The fools! They left the door ajar!_ Yue thought triumphantly as she peeked through the opened sliver of door to make sure the coast was clear before gently pushing the door open and quickly skittering into the room. She'd hoped that if she moved fast enough, no one would notice her but her caution was unwarranted.

The place was empty.

_Where did they all go?_ Yue blinked in surprise as she stood up from behind the cover of a couch she'd dashed behind when she noticed the lack of anyone in the building.

Looking around, Yue couldn't help but shiver a bit. The walls were lined by all kinds of creepy dolls. _Is it just me or are their eyes following me? Who knew McDowell-san was into dolls though._

The sudden sound of a door swinging on its hinges further in the building caught her attention and she spun towards it. There hadn't been any wind so the only reason why it would make a sound was if someone had opened it.

Slinking over, the petite girl noticed there wasn't anyone there though. Just a door to a room swinging from what must've been the residual momentum of its last use.

_Why do I feel like Admiral Ackbar at Endor?_ Yue thought to herself with a frown as she edged cautiously in the direction of the open room. _Even then… I've got to know… I mean, it's not like they'll do anything too bad to me if I do get caught being a stalker, right?_

As long as there wasn't some satanic circle involved, Yue felt she'd be okay.

With that brave thought in mind she stepped into the room and looked down at the strange diorama in a bottle that stood on a pedestal in the otherwise empty room.

_Is that a resort?_ Yue thought as she eyed the strange structure perched on a tropical island that was contained in the glass bottle. It was amazingly detailed, like a ship in a bottle, but not. _McDowell-san sure has a diverse set of hobbies. This is really good too!_

She was still puzzling over the diorama when suddenly the floor beneath her lit up.

"Oh crud!" Yue shrieked. "What is this?!"

Before she could run, she felt her entire being wrapped in light.

* * *

Chamo smirked with pleasure at a job well done as the latest potential Ministra Magi was teleported to Eva-sama's resort.

_If all goes well she should solve my problems with this month's budget quite nicely._ The ermine fairy thought to himself smugly. _Who knew premium chocolate cigarettes were so expensive here in Japan?_

Taking out one of the aforementioned snacks from his little hammerspace, nice short, snazzy name that the nerds came up for pocket dimensions of holding by the way, and began 'smoking' it. At the same time, he snapped his fingers on his free hand to close and lock the front door. Wouldn't want to leave it open and risk getting Eva-sama pissed at him after all. That done, he slinked his way, still happily 'smoking' away, towards the teleportation circle that would take him to Eva-sama's resort.

_It's time to cash in on my little investment._ The devious little fairy thought as the magic circle came to life around him.

* * *

"Let's see how much you've improved Ranma," Eva said as she floated in the air and looked down at her delectable redhead apprentice with a grin.

"Yes, Shishou!" Ranma said as she fell into a ready stance with her crossbow held in a tight grip and leveled at Eva.

Eva was too proud to admit it but the serious look on Ranma's face was making her feeling _very_ hot and bothered at how attractive it made the redhead look

" _Spina Putredine_ (Rot Spine)," Ranma cast, conjuring sharpened pillars of hardened entropic energy that looked like earthen spikes and which seemingly erupted from the ground. These spikes radiated entropic energy and dealt corrosive damage to everything in their vicinity, effectively trapping Eva, unless she wanted to take a ton of damage, within the space they now encircled.

Ranma wasn't done however and followed up with yet another spell.

" _Tabidus Nebula_ (Decaying Mist)!" Ranma incanted, causing a corrosive miasma to settle over the same area that succeeded in stripping Eva of her wards and prevented her from replacing them whilst the redhead herself was unaffected by her magic

"Hm, it seems your ability to control an area has improved… yet~" Eva smiled wickedly as hoarfrost started to whaff off of her as she primed her own magic. "It's still not good enough to beat me. But let's see how far you've come, shall we?"

"I'm not done yet, Shishou!" Ranma said with a defiant smirk. "Zero-chan, Slime Sisters come forth!"

At her command, the four familiars at her command appeared before the redhead in bright flashes of light.

"Your set up is taking too long." Eva said with a smirk as she used some _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement) to get behind the freshly summoned familiars entirely and attempt an attack on Ranma directly.

Her claws came up short though as Ranma used _Volant_ (fly) to flash away from the blow in a high leveled application of the generic flight spell.

"Good, good, it seems you've mastered high speed movement with _Volant_ too." Eva commented with a pleased grin even as she ducked under a lunge from Chachazero and multiple whip like pseudopods the Slime Sisters used to lash out at her. "Very good indeed, my apprentice."

"It's because you're such a good teacher, Shishou." Ranma praised her as she used the high speed movement her spell offered to flick from place to place whilst firing off braces of her _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow) and the occasional _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ (Magic Arrow, Dark Series).

"Oho! Looks like you've really mastered the _Sagitta Magica_ series I taught you too. Though it's to be expected with my expertise in it." Eva preened at her amazing teaching skills, all whilst casually using _Koku Shundō_ to evade both Ranma's spells and the physical attacks of her familiars and used the occasional swipe of her claws to dispel any particularly determined _Sagitta Senium_ worms. "This attack pattern is good too. Trapping an opponent inside a fixed space and then pouring on the firepower. It could stand to be better though."

"I don't have the magical reserves to toss out a high powered AOE spell to just level the area." Ranma said with a frown as she sped up the rate of her spellfire. "Not without completely tiring myself out."

"Yes, I know." Eva acknowledged as she was forced to try just a little bit harder to fend off Ranma's intensifying attacks. "We'll have to work on your reserves. But for the time being, I was thinking of another solution."

"What do you have in mind, Shishou?" Ranma asked curiously.

"More familiars," Eva said as she kicked Chachazero away before the animated doll could sink its knives into her thigh. The doll had managed to get within striking distance thanks to its Slime allies creatively merging their arms into a makeshift catapult and launching her at the vampire. "They're relatively cheap to support, magically speaking, and as you can see they can be quite helpful."

"Dolls, Shishou?" Ranma asked curiously as she mixed up her spell barrage with a casting of her _Sagitta Mixta_ (Mixed Arrows) that unleashed a round of her various original magic arrows.

"I am the Doll Master. I need one of you brats to take after me in that regard. You are clearly the best placed to do so!" Eva declared as pompously as she could manage, which was quite a lot indeed, even as she was forced at last by the ferocity of Ranma's ever intensifying spellfire to summon a barrier.

It lasted barely a second thanks to the corrosive mist that Ranma's earlier area of effect conjuration had created but it bought Eva the second it needed to allow her to avoid being skewered by a trio of _Sagitta Hystrix_ (Porcupine Arrow) that had been flying at her.

_If she keeps this up, she might actually hit me._ Eva thought, genuinely impressed. _I'm not even holding back with the evasions. This is honestly amazing. I'm no speed freak by any stretch but to manage to do this after only a handful of weeks of study, she really does have remarkable talent._

Eva was about to open her mouth to tell her apprentice as much when the wards of the resort suddenly went off and the sound of alert sirens resounded throughout the sealed space.

"Timeout!" Eva shouted, bringing the uninterrupted assault from her apprentice to an end, even as she felt pleased that the alarm had not stopped Ranma's barrage.

_Good. She's internalized the lesson to never get distracted from the opponent in front of you._

"I smell a little mouse. How cute, walking into my lair, little mouse~" She said with a fanged smile and darkened eyes.

"So the alarm is for real?" Ranma asked, her eyes narrowed. "It's probably just Ayase-san. She was following us when we made our way here."

"We can't be sure of that." Eva replied with a shake of her head.

"That makes sense, I guess." Ranma allowed with frown. "So orders, Shishou?"

"Let me go deal with it," Eva said, eager to teach whoever was stupid enough to disturb her private spar with her favourite apprentice a lesson they'd never forget. "I've been itching to get a chance to let loose a little. Teaching whoever this trespasser is the consequences of their actions is just what the doctor ordered."

"Gotcha Shishou," Ranma said with an understanding nod as she landed. "Have fun."

"I intend to," Eva declared with a grin as she used _Koku Shundō_ to travel towards the teleportation point that served as the only way in and out of her resort.

* * *

As the light faded, Yue found herself staring at a sight that was impossible. She was standing on the top of an otherworldly structure. One that looked very much like the structure inside the diorama she'd been looking at just a few seconds ago. Reinforcing this impression was the massive glass dome that seemed to pass for a sky in the strange place she found herself in.

_It can't be… I'm_ inside _that glass bottle!?_ Yue concluded with disbelief as everything came together.

So shocked was she that she didn't even notice the sound of sirens going off the moment the light had faded. All she could do was stand where she was and look around her feeling awestruck.

That is until she felt something grab her ankle. Pausing in her thoughts, her eyes turned downward, looking at the pale clawed hand holding her in a vice grip and a face that was smiling wickedly at her from her own shadow.

"Hello little mouse. You've ruined my fun… I am displeased." McDowell-san said in an angry hiss as she rose from her shadow, lifting Yue into the air effortlessly by her ankle, her unnatural eyes with their blackened sclera and irises radiating the freezing cold of the tundra, glaring hungrily at her. " _Most_. Displeased."

"M-McDowell-san?" Yue managed before the smaller girl, and that was saying something coming from the rather petite purple haired girl, floated up into the air still clutching her ankle and thus lifted her, leg first, along with her.

Squeaking in alarm, Yue instinctively clutched her skirt and pressed it against her body to protect her modesty.

"You have more than your dignity to worry about right now, little mouse." McDowell-san said as she lifted a terrified Yue up so she could glare down into her eyes. "For taking me away from my time with _her_ , I'll make you suffer immensely before I kill you."

Yue didn't like to admit it but staring into the murderous eyes of her classmate whilst totally at her mercy, she couldn't help but be so terrified that she lost control of her bladder.

"Eva-sama, don't hurt her! That's Yue!" Haruna shouted as she ran over from somewhere, Nodoka following behind her somehow keeping pace.

_How?_ An idle part of Yue's mind that wasn't consumed with terror thought. _Nodoka had always been bad at sports and Haruna is almost superhumanly good at them. How then is Nodoka keeping up with Haruna now?_

"Oh, I know who the little mouse is." McDowell-san said with a roll of her eyes as she turned to glare at Yue's best friends. "Why should I care though?"

"B-Because Ranma-san will be angry with you for killing our classmate!" Nodoka declared as she struggled a little to catch her breath.

Haruna nodded in vigorous agreement.

_Why does Ranma-san's opinion matter?_ Yue couldn't help but think.

"...Touche. Well, little mouse, you get to live for now." McDowell-san sighed and dropped her on the ground without a care, causing Yue to yelp in surprise. "Get her up to speed. I have better things to do!"

Thankfully, Haruna was there to catch her before Yue had a rather unpleasant meeting with the ground.

"Thank you, Eva-sama!" Haruna and Nodoka both shouted after the petite blonde as she literally _flew_ away.

"H-Haruna, N-Nodoka," Yue said as Haruna let her down to stand on her own shaky feet. "What the hell is going on!?"

"It's a long explanation," Haruna said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Yes, it is." Nodoka said, with a nod in agreement. "But we can explain after we get you a change of clothes."

Yue blushed as the reminder and she rubbed her thighs together in embarrassment at the uncomfortable wetness at her groin. And through the rest of her clothes.

"Oh."

* * *

Seated in the library of McDowell-san's magical resort, Yue clutched the skirt of her borrowed gothic lolita dress, apparently it was the only style of clothing that the petite blonde had, nervously.

"So magic is real?" Yue asked her two best friends that sat across from her at the table of the study carrel they'd appropriated for their discussion. She had a drink in her hands, sipping it as it soothed her rattled nerves.

"It can get crazy, but it's honestly so much fun." Nodoka smiled brightly, eyes dancing with excitement as she held up her little mind reading magical book. "I'm learning all about fire magic. I have a real affinity to it. And my artifact can read the minds of the people I know! It's so interesting and new."

Yue felt her heart swell at how happy her best friend was. She could only smile at the sight.

"I'm sure it's great. It sounds amazing." Yue told her.

"Yuechi, it's super fun. I never got to tell you since you were a regular person and all, and it's a family thing. But I know tons. You have questions, and I've got answers!" Haruna grinned wickedly as she and Nodoka nodded to each other about it, turning back to her with beaming looks.

Yue nodded absently as she tried to make sense of what this revelation meant.

"So since I've never seriously thought of magic as real, there's some kind of masquerade going on to make sure that normal people don't learn about its existence?"

Haruna and Nodoka both winced.

"Y-Yeah," Haruna said scratching her cheek nervously. "Everyone who uses magic tries to maintain secrecy. And when that fails, they use a lot of misdirection or outright misinformation most of the time, but sometimes-"

"They use memory wipes." Nodoka finished when Haruna trailed off.

"M-Memory wipe!?" Yue gasped, a strike of panic going through her, nearly dropping her drink. "What kind of crazy thing have you two gotten into?!"

"Yeah well...Keeping magic secret is important. The last time it was open knowledge, it was abused a lot and a lot of people died." Haruna said with a shudder. "That's why magicians are so adamant about keeping magic secret."

Yue could understand how something like that could come about. Especially back in the day when war seemed like an almost daily occurrence. She could only imagine how much more terrible conflicts like the World Wars would have been if magic was involved.

"That might be the case but I don't want to be subjected to a memory wipe." Yue said, biting her lower lip nervously. "I'm not going to allow _anyone_ to mess with my mind."

"There's a way around that!" Haruna declared with a grin.

"What do you have in mind?" Yue asked her excited friend warily. She knew very well how easily Haruna could get over enthusiastic about things.

"A Pactio, you need to make a Pactio!" Haruna said, leaning over the table to point eagerly at Yue.

Yue's eyes narrowed in wary confusion.

"What's a Paction?"

"No you goof, a Pactio. A magical pact between a mage and a partner~" Haruna winked and made a weird kissy face. What was up with that?

"Haruna, you're getting too excited." Nodoka said with a giggle as she pulled the green haired girl back into her seat. "Why don't you let me explain?"

Yue blinked. What was with the new chemistry between Nodoka and Haruna? They'd been close of course. They were best friends. But Nodoka had never been so assertive before. With anyone, not even Haruna. Yet, here she was essentially manhandling her? What the hell happened?

These were thoughts that stayed at the back of her mind as Nodoka dutifully explained to her the details of what a Pactio was, even showing off both her Pactio card and her artifact.

"So I basically make a pact with a mage and get some cool magical item?" Yue surmised the basics after Nodoka had finished. It sounded a bit tropey to her, but not out of the question.

"Yeah, I know it's a little stereotypical," Haruna said with a shrug. "But tropes have to come from somewhere. Plus the magicians who invented the rites we use nowadays probably got some inspiration from mundane stereotypes too. Cross-pollination between the two worlds is a big thing."

Yue nodded. That made sense.

"So, um, how do you make this pact anyways?"

"Well, you have to, um, well…" Nodoka trailed off, her cheeks looking pink and glancing quickly at Haruna before quickly looking away.

"You kiss," Haruna said with a grin. "Just like how I pecked Nodoka on her supple lips."

"Haruna~!" Nodoka said, scandalized as she smacked Haruna's arm.

"Oh." Yue blinked, before her eyes widened a fraction. "Oooh. So you two…"

Both nodded, Haruna looking cheeky while Nodoka was slightly flustered.

"Huh, well, I mean. If it was to save Nodoka from getting her brain fried, it can't be too bad. Right?" Yue shrugged, but gave a tiny smirk. "So, do I need to look out for socks on the doorknob?"

"Yue!" Nodoka squeaked, her face a blazing red. "I like Negi-sensei! Negi-sensei! I'm not attracted to girls!"

"And you wonder why I call you Yuechi~" Haruna snickered. "Sorry, I'm not ginger enough for Nodoka~"

_I think they're denying things a little too much._ Yue reasoned with a slight grin. _Though, I doubt either of them really understands what's going on between them, so I'll cut them some slack. Heck, I'm not sure I've figured it out either. 'Cos I'm fairly sure that they aren't attracted to each other._

"Enough about our Pactio," Nodoka said, shooting Haruna a warning look to not bring it up anymore. "We need to discuss yours. Who exactly do you want to be your Magister or Magistra?"

"Perhaps you three can discuss that over lunch, Haruna-san, Nodoka-san, Ayase-san." Karakuri-san, dressed unexpectedly in an exaggerated maid's outfit, said as she walked over. "Master is waiting for us in the dining hall."

"Righto~, Chachamaru-san." Haruna said as she leapt to her feet. "I'm starving anyways. We can discuss this over good food."

"Haruna, you're thinking with your stomach again." Nodoka said as she followed her Magistra's lead with a fond shake of her head.

"Hey, I'm hungry."

"Then you will enjoy the meal today," Karakuri-san said with a smile. "I cooked your favorite curry."

"Curry!" Haruna said, pumping her arm happily. "How did you know it was my favorite, Chachamaru-san?"

"I asked Ranma-sama," the girl dressed as a maid said as she guided all of them out of the library.

"Is it just me or is Karakuri-san all sweet with Haruna?" Yue whispered to Nodoka as they walked towards the dining hall.

"Evangline-san and Ranma-san are dating, sort of, so as Evangline-san's maid… I guess Haruna gets special treatment from her?"

"Huh, lucky her."

"Indeed," Nodoka said with a playful grin. "But don't forget what we were discussing just now. Over lunch, we'll discuss who you can make a Pactio with. Everyone will be there after all so you can even ask their opinion on things directly."

Yue nodded. She didn't think she would. Not so quickly. She needed more time to consider things before approaching anyone to be her Magistra or even to just ask their opinions on things.

"Oi~! What are you two walking so slow for?" Haruna shouted back at them from a short distance ahead. "Hurry up! Curry's awaiting!"

"You're being overeager again, Haruna." Nodoka said with a chuckle even as she did pick up speed to catch up with her Magistra.

Yue trailed after her at a more sedate pace. Shaking her head with fond amusement at her friends' antics, her worries for her own predicament temporarily forgotten.

* * *

Sitting at one of the many lookouts in the elaborate structure that was the centre of McDowell-san's resort, one rather conveniently located in the library much to Yue's delight, she looked down at her various classmates on the beaches below as they engaged in various training exercises whilst trying to decide who she wanted to be her Magister.

Konoka-san was seated by the water's edge and watching as Sakurazaki-san and Asuna-san sparred _on top_ of the waves using sheer speed to stay out of the water as their weapons clashed with shocking force.

_Note to self, physics rarely apply to magical shenanigans._ Yue told herself as she crossed the kind hearted healer off the list.

Konoka-san was out of the question. Sure they were close. _Everyone_ was close with the bubbly granddaughter of the Academy's Dean but they were not _that_ close. She couldn't conceive of being her partner even if it was just in name. Same for most of the other mages in their little group. The only ones she might've considered was Haruna and by extension, her sister. Or Nodoka.

Frowning at that realization, Yue's thoughts moved to Haruna and her eyes drifted over to the chaotic free for all that her best friend and the other Ministra Magi were engaged in.

Her golems were dominating through sheer weight of numbers but the others were giving as good as they got thanks to their artifacts and/or magic. Well most of them at least. Asakura-san was pretty much out of the game already, having taken to cowering in a corner as the others went at it with enthusiasm. Considering the info-gathering focus of her artifact and the few spells she'd supposedly learned, she couldn't blame the poor would be journalist. She was really out of her element.

_I'm getting distracted again._ Yue said with a shake of her head. _Damnit Yue! Focus!_

With her mind back on track, she reflected on the possibility of making a Pactio with Haruna. Sadly, it was an unlikely one. Whilst the greenette was open to the idea, she had freely admitted that she might not have the power to support two Ministra. She had looked a little sad when she'd told her that too and that ate at Yue's heart to see that. But that didn't change the facts. Nodoka as a newbie mage had the same problem.

In seeming direct contradiction to Haruna, her sister was perfectly able to support a Ministra. Something she proved easily enough by the intense spar she was having with McDowell-san down below where she was shooting off one deadly looking beam after another.

Were big damn lasers really the best thing magic can pull off? She hoped not. That would be so damned disappointing!

Sadly, McDowell-san was out of the question. Not that Yue was even considering the vampire, and wasn't learning that a surprise, at all. As for Ranma-san... Haruna had informed her that her sister was adamantly against getting a Ministra.

That had stuck in Yue's craw because of the hypocrisy it showed in regards to how she'd got her familiars. A story Haruna was disturbingly happy to tell. Something she'd immediately pointed out the hypocrisy of to the redhead at lunch, calling her out about how she forced the Slime Sisters into becoming her familiars yet adamantly refusing to make Pactios!

"Huh, I hadn't thought about it like that. But it doesn't really change my stance on Pactios." Ranma-san had replied with genuine surprise to Yue's question.

As Yue had wandered off after that, she had seen Ranma-san summon the Slime Sisters and apologize to them about forcing them into a familiar bond. Following with the Slimes reassuring her that they were happy with the arrangement and that it was normal for creatures like them. That being the case, Yue guessed she could let the matter go. After all, if the 'victims' weren't complaining then what right did she have to do so? The Slimes aren't human after all. Maybe for them it _was_ totally natural to become bound to magicians as familiars. Until she knew more she could let it go.

_Bad Yue! You're getting distracted again!_ The purple haired girl scolded herself. _Focus! The very sanctity of your mind is at stake!_

Not that she had many options left. Through sheer process of elimination, she was really just looking into Negi-sensei as her prospective Magister.

With that thought in mind, she turned to look at where Negi-sensei was training on his own.

He was standing alone at one stretch of the beach, repeatedly casting the same spell that sent icy blade shaped beams out across the water at a set of floating targets. It was called _Ensis Exsequens_ (Sword of Conviction), if Yue remembered what Haruna told her correctly. Considering the various sizes of the beams and the differing damage they were doing to the targets, he was clearly practicing how to regulate their potency.

_Wow! He must have cast that same spell at least a hundred times this day alone already._ Yue thought with an involuntary whistle of appreciation, impressed by his determination.

Though beyond that, there was also just something undeniably attractive of seeing him repeatedly vaporize targets. Seeing a boy be so powerful appealed to her on a primal level.

_No, it's his determination! His determination! I'm not going gaga over the fact he's a cute magical badass! Not at all!_

Why did her throat feel so dry all of a sudden?

Still, the growing guilt in her heart panged strongly. She knew Nodoka had confessed to Negi-Sensei during the Kyoto trip. Having such feelings was surely a major betrayal of their friendship!

_Still, the chance to learn actual magic? ...Nodoka wouldn't mind if I made a Pactio with Sensei just to learn some magic, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> And thus Yue joins the team. Her training has only begun and with how serious Nodoka has been, Yue's going to be training like hell to catch up! And as she too joins Team Shouta Love, her usual thirst for drinks has gone to a thirst for a boy that is like her favored fictional heroes that use magic and the like. The Thirst be strong with this one.
> 
> Nameless: So there are hints of a Nodoka/Haruna pairing in this chapter. That is something we're going for. In a way at least. We aren't going for a full on romantic relationship. More like a lifelong platonic partnership. Something beyond best friends but which doesn't, usually, involve anything romantic or sexual. It's a new thing for us, so we hope we're doing it right.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	25. Sayo's Debut - A Friendly Ghost Story

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Five: Sayo's Debut - A Friendly Ghost Story**

**Beta:**

* * *

Kazumi was sitting in her dorm looking at her laptop as the data came in from the six small ovoid shaped camera golems conjured by her Pactio artifact, _Reportatrix Denudans_ (Uncovering Reporter), and filled out a map of Mahora Academy's expansive campus on the program she'd downloaded and set up to receive their input with a little help from Hasegawa-san. It had cost her a pretty penny and a promise to not reveal to the rest of the class that the misanthropic ginger was a closet computer wiz but it was totally worth it.

Especially since her help was allowing her to scout out the campus' grounds for her own personal hyper detailed map she had full intention of exploiting in her reporting. There were plenty of hidden shortcuts, passages, etc. that weren't on the official maps after all and discovering them would greatly improve her ability to grab scoops in the future. That and earn a tidy sum from selling such maps, sanitized versions of course, to visitors to the campus during the upcoming Mahora Festival. A windfall that would more than cover the cost for enlisting her classmate's help.

The best part of all this? The golems created by her artifact could pass for mundane drones. Something she'd tested with Hasegawa-san who hadn't even noticed their magical nature and merely commented on them having an eccentric shape. As such, she could do her mapping in broad daylight without the Kantō Magic Association getting on her case. Running away from Kuzunoha-sensei once was more than enough for her. Thank you very much!

_Sure~! If Hasegawa-san had found something odd, she'd be liable to getting her memory wiped but that was totally avoidable. All the girl needed was to make a Pactio with Negi-sensei and viola! Problem solved._ Kazumi couldn't help but smirk at the thought. _Something that I don't think either of them would mind._

The automated nature of the mapping had given her the free time to research some of the various mysteries of campus. With so many schools on the grounds, each with their own unique collection of the typical Seven Mysteries, there were plenty to go around. Her plan was to collate them, mostly for her own curiosity but also to fill up a little guidebook to sell on the side with the map to visitors to the Festival. A little extra cash never hurt anyone after all.

_There was however one mystery in particular that I am particularly curious about,_ Kazumi thought as she stared at the photo of the unfamiliar girl who was supposedly Seat 1 of her own class. _Just who are you, Aisaka Sayo-san?_

* * *

"Okay, there's gotta be something on who this Aisaka Sayo is here." Kazumi muttered as she flipped through the Kantō Magic Association's records on Mahora Academy's classes.

She might not have access to the full records still but as a magic user, she had access to more than the highly sanitized version available on the mundane side of things.

Though the Magic Association could really stand to sort their archives better. It had taken her hours and the help of a dozen demons summoned by her _Oculus Kilrogg_ (Eye of Kilrogg) spell to find what she was looking for. The minor demons might have been little more than floating disembodied eyes but they were proving damned helpful, pun fully intended, in sorting through the mess of poorly filed documents that the magicians of Mahora maintained on their students.

"So this is it huh?" Kazumi said aloud as she flipped open the Association's copy of her class' register even as her summoned demons crowded over her shoulder to see what they'd been looking for was all about.

The first couple pages were a rather unhelpful photo register identical to the mundane one so Kazumi just flipped to the next page and hit paydirt.

Before she could start reading though, she had to take a moment to boop a demon. "Stop hanging on my shoulder, you."

Honestly, how rude.

"Seat 1, Aisaka Sayo," Kazumi read. "Born 1925!? What!? Is she another vampire like Eva-sama!?"

As one the demons all shook their heads, which since they were all just one big eye was a really creepy shaking of their whole bodies.

"Okay, not a vampire, but a supernatural something, right?"

They all bobbed in a nod. Still creepy. But one of them helpfully floated down to nod at a line in the remarks.

Kazumi looked at where her demon was indicating and for a moment frowned at the hefty redactions. She'd learned enough about handling magical documents since starting this investigation to know the hidden content would be available if she was properly keyed in but apparently whoever this Aisaka-san was, tons of stuff about her were classified. For a moment, she was intrigued about what those secret details were. But that distraction only lasted a moment as she saw what exactly her demon was pointing at.

"She's a ghost? And she's haunting our class!?"

* * *

"You know Tatsumiya-san when I heard that you part timed as a shrine maiden I didn't believe it," Kazumi said by way of greeting as she walked up to her classmate at the shrine where she worked.

"And why is it so hard to believe?" The half Puerto Rican girl said with a roll of her eyes before glaring at one of Kazumi's summoned demons which was hovering just above her head whilst invisible, a neat little trick of their kind that had greatly enamoured them to the would be reporter. "And did you have to send your invisible demons to hunt me down? Wouldn't your artifact's golems be better?"

"My golems are busy. They're still mapping out the campus. Besides I can summon more of these guys," Kazumi explained with a shrug before reaching to tickle the demon over Tatsumiya-san's head. "And I can look through their eyes just as easily as I can with my golems."

"I suppose," Tatsumiya-san with a frown. "But do be more careful with your use of them and any other information gathering magic you might have learned. People tend to be sensitive about mages using stuff like that."

"Negi-sensei said the same thing. I'll be careful." Kazumi reassured her.

"See that you do," Tatsumiya-san said with a decisive nod. "Now why have you sought me out Asakura-san?"

"Did you know that we have a ghost for a classmate?"

"Yes, I knew about Aisaka-san. Why?"

"Doesn't that freak you out? Shouldn't we exorcise her or something?"

"Why? I wasn't paid to do so nor has she done anything malicious to our class. Or for that matter the past iterations of the A-class since she started haunting it."

The simple reply nearly made Kazumi trip, but she kept her footing thankfully. If she was gonna survive in the magical world, she couldn't let every little thing surprise her. Or at least not let it show when it did. Otherwise, she'd never stop getting flustered.

"So we just leave her alone?"

Tatsumiya-san turned to look up in the sky for some reason before turning back to Kazumi.

Kazumi followed her action and thought she might have seen the indistinct outline of a girl, but the sight disappeared from her view so quickly that she might've just imagined it.

"Yes," Tatsumiya-san nodded. "As you can see for yourself, Aisaka-san is no threat."

Kazumi hadn't actually seen anything, but she did get the point her classmate was trying to make.

"Well, you seem to be an expert, it is why I came to ask you in the first place, so I'll believe you on that." Kazumi decided with a nod. "It's getting late. I'm gonna grab dinner. See you later."

Nodding in way of reply, Tatsumiya-san turned back to sweeping the shrine grounds like she had been before Kazumi arrived.

Rolling her eyes at her classmate's lack of a proper goodbye, Kazumi turned on her heel and left. Unbeknownst to her leaving a _very_ excited ghost behind her.

* * *

Excitement danced through Sayo's spectral form. A broad smile spread across her face as she clapped her hands, yet no sound escaped at their connection. Yet, she didn't care, she was ecstatic, elated!

"They can see me! Some of them can see me!" Sayo cheered excitedly for what felt like the thousandth time as she fluttered about the 3-A classroom that served as the lingering ghost's home. "I wonder if the others can too?"

Sayo had never actually tried to be seen. Having resigned herself to a life of loneliness since discovering the living couldn't see or hear her early on in her unlife. In fact, she hadn't even known any of the living _could_ see her. But now that she did…

"I have to try!"

Turning to see that several of her classmates were still there, despite school having been over hours ago, working on the class' haunted house attraction for the upcoming Mahora Festival, Sayo felt there was no time like the present to put her new conviction to the test.

"I can't just try talking to them like normal," Sayo concluded. "That never works. So I've gotta try something different, but wha-"

She didn't finish the sentence as a sense of otherworldly knowing, like instinct but not, settled into her mind and she knew exactly what she needed to do.

* * *

Ako ran a hand through her cyan hair tiredly, as she continued filling out the paperwork for their class' event for the festival at Class Rep's behest. Most of it was safety regulations which Ako was knowledgeable about due to working part time at the nurse's office where she part timed as the school nurse's assistant. It was this knowledge that had led to her being assigned by unanimous agreement of the class to handle all such matters.

Ako honestly didn't mind. It did make sense considering her experience with it, but it did get tiring handling so much paperwork at times.

"Class Rep, can we take a break?" Natsumi-san asked as she and Makie-san finished hanging up the last of the ceiling mounted decorations.

"Not yet, Natsumi-san! We haven't met our deadline for today yet! Izumi-san, how goes the safety guidelines?"

"Oh come on Class Rep!" One of the Narutaki twins said from behind a styrofoam wall divider they were putting up. Without seeing her face, Ako simply could not tell which twin had spoken, they sounded too much alike. "We've been working non stop for hours already!"

"We need a few more safety tape lines class rep." Ako informed the elegant blonde girl, ignoring the others' banter. "Mostly towards the end of the maze area. Also, we need to move the ghost attraction away from the fire escape for obvious reasons."

"We put it there? Ugh, I swore I cleared the area!" Class Rep frowned and marched over to the site. Ako frowned as there was someone already there, maybe? It was hard to tell.

"Excuse me, but the ghost attraction is near the exit just like Izumi-san said." An unfamiliar girl who Ako swore hadn't been there just a second ago said suddenly.

"And who are you exact… ly…" Class Rep began in her typical confrontational way before cutting off and freezing in place as her hand went _through_ the girl.

The girl, ghost, whatever, turned around, with a terrifying smile on its face and tears of _blood_ running down her face.

Ako felt her body freeze, her breath hitching as her hemophobia paralyzed her.

"W-What's with those looks?" The ghost said. It might have sounded nervous, if not for coming out in a voice that reminded Ako of nails being dragged across a chalkboard.

"G-Ghost!" Makie-san shrieked, setting everyone off as everyone else just started screaming too.

"No wait! I mean you all no harm!" The ghost said in a blood curdling screech even as she animated all the half-finished costumes and decor that littered the classroom and sent them at Ako and her classmates.

Ako ran out of there as fast as she could, the others right there beside her.

* * *

"That could've gone better," Sayo said, fighting back tears as her classmates fled from her presence.

" _It really could've,"_ the voice of Asakura-san said from outside the window and Sayo spun to see one of her camera golems floating there. " _Maybe try not to scare them next time?"_

"You can see me properly now?" Sayo asked hopefully, the earlier disaster temporarily forgotten.

" _Uh, not really. Sorry. You're still a little indistinct."_ Asakura admitted apologetically. " _But I can hear you just fine now. Through my golem at least. Couldn't do that before now."_

"Oh," Sayo said, with a slight pout.

Don't get her wrong. It was an improvement and thus greatly welcome but just being heard and not seen just wasn't the same.

"So, um, weren't you going to have dinner? I heard you telling Tatsumiya-san that earlier." Sayo asked curiously, changing the topic. "Why are you free to talk to me now?"

" _That was like hours ago, Aisaka-san."_ Kazumi-san said, sounding surprised. " _I was done with dinner ages ago. Guess being a ghost messes with your perception of time?"_

"It does sometimes," Sayo admitted with a nod, recalling how sometimes decades felt like minutes and hours like years as she drifted aimlessly through unlife. "So, um, why is your golem here though? I thought you mapped the school already."

" _You know a lot of what we are up to huh? Should've expected that from an invisible ghost."_ Kazumi said offhandedly. " _And yeah, I'm done with the school. I sent the golem to try spotting you actually. Was hoping I had better luck seeing you through it than with my naked eye. And I was right, it did."_

"I'm glad," Sayo said with a smile.

"I can see that," Asakura-san said in person as she stepped into the class. "I still can't see you very clearly but that smile of yours? That I can see perfectly."

Sayo blushed crimson at that.

"Pretty blush," Asakura-san teased.

"Asakura-san~!"

The redhead chuckled goodnaturedly.

"Okay, I'll stop teasing you Aisaka-san." The living girl said as she picked up one of the fallen decorations. "So let's get started shall we?"

"Started with what?" Sayo asked, blinking in confusion.

"Fixing the mess you accidentally made of course." Asakura-san said with a grin. "If we did that, I'm sure we can buy some favor back from those girls you scared half to death. Think of it as part of your apology."

"Oh!" Sayo said with a happy grin as she picked up one of the decorations and floated up to the ceiling to secure it back where it should be. "Let's start then!"

Asakura-san giggled at her enthusiasm but nevertheless joined in to help, something Sayo greatly appreciated. She was making a friend! For the first time since she died, she was making a friend! Hooray!

* * *

Kazumi had just reached her dorm building after helping Sayo-san, the ghost had insisted they call each other by their first names by the end of their time together, when suddenly Makie-san appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her arm

"Come on Asakura-san! Class Rep is calling an emergency meeting!"

"Huh? Why?" Kazumi asked, even if she had a pretty good idea.

She'd seen the whole fiasco through her camera golem after all. She'd initially only sent it to try and spot Sayo-san to see if she could get a photo or some other evidence of her existence so she could sell a story about her to one of Mahora's tabloids for a quick buck or two, but then she'd seen the poor ghost's failed attempt at communicating with her classmates.

_And like the bleeding heart I am, I just had to go help her._ A cynical part of Kazumi chided her as she tiredly allowed the energetic gymnast to drag her into one of the study halls that were scattered throughout the dorm building and which was now full of 3-A students.

Most of them looked either confused why they were there like Negi-sensei and his roommates or annoyed that they were like Hasegawa-san who someone had miraculously been able to drag out of her dorm room. Thankfully, Ranma-san seemed on hand to keep her volatile friend from blowing her top at being pulled away from whatever the computer wiz got up to inside the privacy of her room. Eva-sama didn't seem too upset about her girlfriend's distraction thankfully, though the fact Ranma-san and her were squeezed together on a single chair might have something to do with that. Thank heavens for the room being overcrowded for justifying that. A Eva-sama going all tsun tsun because she wasn't getting enough attention from Ranma-san was terrifying!

"Class Rep," Negi-sensei said when he saw Kazumi walk in. "Everyone is here now. Could you tell us why you called us all here?"

"Of course, Negi-sensei! There has been a terrible development! Our classroom has become haunted by a vicious spirit!"

At her exclamation, the rest of the class who weren't there when Aisaka-san messed up murmured and whispered, but the others recounted what happened and corroborated what the wealthy heiress said.

"We will need to hire a priest, or someone who can exorcise the spirit." The Class Rep stated firmly. "We cannot work with it haunting the classroom, let alone allow it to stay for the festival! I will not have it!"

More murmurs and shouts of agreement followed this, but Kazumi felt the need to speak up.

"You can't do this!" Kazumi shouted in defense of her new friend. "Sayo-san didn't do anything wrong! By your own admission of what she said, all she did was try to communicate with you!"

"You weren't there, Asakura-san." Izumi-san said with a shudder. "She might've said she wasn't trying to hurt us, but… No, the scary way she did it… She was lying! She was really trying to scare us to death!"

"She must have wanted to kill us and provide her company in the afterlife." Makie-san said with a nod. "That's what ghosts do, right?"

The others who Sayo-san had inadvertently scared all nodded.

_Shit! They've convinced themselves. There's no way to convince them they're wrong now. They're too stubborn for it._

"No need for a priest, Class Rep." Tatsumiya-san said as she pushed off the wall she'd been leaning against. "I'm a shrine maiden. I think I can handle a petty ghost. So long as you pay me my fee of course."

"Name your price, Tatsumiya-san and I'll match it." Class Rep replied enthusiastically.

_I-I can't let this happen… I need a plan!_ Kazumi thought as she stood frozen at the door where she'd been standing the whole meeting.

"Asakura, you can use your training partners. Go fix this." Eva-sama said as she walked past on the way out with an annoyed look on her face. Probably seeing this as a waste of time to her. "I will not like it if I'm the only undead left in our class by the end of the day. Got it, little paparazzi?"

Why did that feel like a threat of death by training if she failed?

"You best hurry Asakura-san," Chacharmaru-san said as she trailed after her master. "It seems Class Rep is already planning how she intends to proceed."

"Right!" Kazumi nodded in thanks to the gynoid at the reminder. "I've got to get to work too!"

With that she went in search of her training partners. She had a ghost to save.

* * *

"So Tatsumiya-san is leading Class Rep, Izumi-san, Natsumi-san, Makie-san and the Narutaki twins as part of their exorcism team?" Kazumi asked Ranma-san as they and some of the others the reporter had recruited to save Sayo-san sat in their classroom.

"I've never dealt with a ghost before. It feels so exciting!" Konoka-san chirped, holding some Buddhist prayer beads and a toy wand.

Showing some good sense, the Dean's granddaughter had seemingly foregone using her staff tonight. Thank heavens! Explaining away that overly ornate thing would be hell.

"Konoka-san, we're here to save Sayo-san. Why do you have prayer beads?" Ranma-san asked.

"Just in case some other spirit tries to come along! You can never be too prepared!" The bubbly brunette said with a serious look, her face scrunched up in determination.

"It's a good policy. Some things we did have ended up sideways." Negi-sensei pointed out, making Ranma-san nod in agreement.

"If another spirit shows up, I'll protect you Kono-chan." Setsuna-san informed her Magister and girlfriend loyally. "My Shinmei-ryū is perfect for dealing with spirits."

"Okay, so we have that side of things covered." Kazumi said, rolling her eyes. What was the likelihood of _another_ spirit barging into this mess anyways?

"But how are we going to solve the problem of helping Sayo-san communicate with the others?" Kazumi asked, looking at all the mages present in turn.

Everybody shook their heads or made some other negative expression.

"I can probably do something." Konoka-san said, "I've been going over some Eastern magic scripts that Oji-sama lent me to study. Stay to my roots and stuff. I can probably cast a spell that will help her be more corporeal."

"Or your positive healing magic would accidentally exorcise Sayo-san." Ranma-san told her fellow apprentice pointedly, causing the usually bubbly girl to wince. "Better not. Not if you're not sure about it."

"I don't want to die for keeps yet!" Sayo-san wailed and floated away from Konoka-san. "I haven't even kissed a boy!"

"We can all see and hear her just fine now," Negi-sensei said with a contemplative frown. "Maybe if we duplicate whatever let her do that with magical people she can manage to reach mundanes too?"

"Except we don't know what she did to achieve it," Ranma-san reminded him with a sigh. "Unless you have a clue, Aisaka-san?"

"Sorry, Ranma-san," Sayo-san with a sad shake of her head. "But no, I don't."

" _Onee-sama!"_ A squirrel shaped golem with a built in speaker said as it rushed into the classroom. " _They're here. Ukyo-san, Asuna-san, Nodoka, Yue and I will try to stall them but I don't know how long we can manage it. Especially since we have to be discreet with our magic and with Tatsumiya-san on their side. I don't think even Ukyo-san is gonna be enough to fend her off. You guys need to hurry!"_

"Maybe we can out bid Class Rep?" Konoka-san offered weakly. "Tatsumiya-san is only in it for the money right?"

"Tatsumiya-san isn't that fickle a mercenary." Ranma-san said with a shake of her head. "She's made a deal, she'll stick to it till it runs its course."

"Great, a mercenary with standards." Kazumi grumbled.

"Then, I think we should go try and help try and stop Class Rep and the others." Konoka-san decided as she stood. "We aren't doing any good here."

"Ucchan will manage to hold them off for a bit I think." Ranma-san reassured. "But I do think that they might need some help."

Negi-sensei pondered the matter for a long moment before nodding.

"That might be our best option," he said with a tired sigh. "Let's go."

"I'll stay," Ranma-san said as the others moved to leave. "I might've something that could work. It's a last resort kinda thing, so let's hope I don't need to use it though."

Konoka-san looked about to ask what the petite redhead meant but the sounds of a nearby scuffle had her, Setsuna-san and Negi-sensei rushing out instead.

"So," Sayo-san said, looking at Ranma-san warily. "What kind of last resort do you have in mind, Ranma-san?"

"Well if all else fails, I can try and alter your Origin to make it easier for you to interact with others. I've never tried anything remotely close to that though so I'm not sure it could work."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Kazumi asked, feeling uneasy at the mere suggestion of something like that.

"It might just kill Aisaka-san if it fails," Ranma admitted.

"Only as a last resort," Sayo-san said with a nervous gulp.

That last resort seemed increasingly likely however as suddenly the door to the classroom was slammed open and Tatsumiya-san and Class Rep spilled in, with the rest of their crew somehow fending off the rest of Kazumi's friends and keeping them outside

"I'll handle this," Ranma-san said as she leapt towards the two. "Asakura-san, do something!"

With that Ranma-san tackled both of the new arrivals. Was Kazumi seeing things right and her fellow redhead's arms suddenly extended unnaturally and allowed her to wrap them around both taller, larger girls as she barrelled into them.

_She must be using some kinda spell._ Kazumi thought, before she blinked and the strange sight was gone, replaced with Ranma-san and a newly arrived Haruna-san wrestling with Tatsumiya-san and Class Rep.

"Asakura-san! Hurry! We can't hold them off much longer!" Haruna-san shouted as she barely kept Tatsumiya-san restrained with her magically enhanced strength.

_I would if I knew what to do! This isn't a memory wipe, if it was then all I need is- That's it!_

"Chamo-kun, set up a Pactio circle!" Kazumi ordered the ermine, who paused in watching the chaotic melee outside from his perch on a display board out in the hall and looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Nee-san, that's genius! Give me a second!" He cackled as he raced over to her side and proceeded to use a chalk he pulled from somewhere to draw the circle in record time.

Seriously, there had to be a sport for making those intricate things so fast. She had to look into that. But that's for later. For now, she had more urgent things to take care of.

"Sayo-san, let's form a Pactio. We'll kiss and that should create a magical contract between us and give you some kind of power boost that'll hopefully fix things. I dunno if it'll work but it's the only thing I can think of, so if you're game, just follow my lead."

"H-Hai," Sayo-san said as she floated over and with a brilliant blush on her face leaned in to peck Kazumi's puckered lips.

The bright light of a new Pactio being made blinded everyone, and when it faded a much more solid Sayo-san stood in place where she had just been hovering. She was still a little transparent, but there was a remarkable improvement from just a second ago.

"Let me see what you've got there." Chamo said as he hurriedly skittered up Sayo-san's shoulder -How? Kazumi had no idea.- and put a hand on the Pactio card that the ghost was cradling.

It glowed for a moment and the ermine fairy let out an appreciative whistle. "That was amazingly convenient."

" _Umbra Invisibilis_ (Invisible Shadow)?" Sayo-san said as she looked down at her Pactio card with an adorable look of confusion.

"What does it do exactly?" Ranma-san asked.

How she managed to do that while still struggling with Class Rep was beyond Kazumi.

"Solve our problem, Ranma-nee!" Chamo-kun said as he cackled with glee whilst holding up a copy of the card. "This Pactio is boosting her natural ghostly powers making her rank as a ghost equal to that of one centuries old! With it, her new power set makes it easy as pie for her to both materialize and the ability to put herself in the memories of those around her like she's always been there."

Well that was amazing news!

"Sayo-san! Say Adeat!" Kasumi commanded.

* * *

"Adeat!" Sayo shouted enthusiastically, calling on the power of her Pactio with Kazumi-san.

Unlike with all the other Pactios she'd seen there was no materialization of an artifact. Instead, Sayo herself was transformed by the invocation as she shifted from her ghostly incorporeality into human tangibility.

"Aisaka-san?" Class Rep said suddenly, blinking in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Sayo wasn't entirely sure what Class Rep remembered now that she had used her new powers to insert herself into her memories so she could only wing it.

_I hope this works._

"Sorry for scaring you and the others earlier," Sayo said with a deep, apologetic bow.

"That was you?" Class Rep asked blinking in confusion for a moment before her eyes suddenly rolled into the back of their sockets and she collapsed.

"What ha-"

"It's just the memories you inserted settling in," Tatsumiya-san said with a sigh. "It'll take a while to settle. It's pretty stressful on the mind, so she passed out."

"It won't cause permanent harm?" Sayo asked worriedly.

"No," Tatsumiya-san reassured. "But it does mean my contract is a bust. I doubt she'll want to hurt you now that she thinks of you as a normal classmate."

"She'll still pay you," Ranma-san said with a shrug as she released Class Rep and prompted her sister to do the same for Tatsumiya-san. "She's fair like that."

"Still don't like not completing the job."

"Would you really have exorcised Sayo-san?" Kazumi-san asked, moving to stand between Sayo and Tatsumiya-san.

"I'd have tried." Tatsumiya-san said with a shrug. "At least enough to convince Class Rep. Exorcising a lingering ghost isn't easy and she'd have to have paid double what she did to get me to do it for real. Besides, I don't hurt my classmates."

Kazumi-san breathed a sigh of relief and Sayo offered Tatsumiya-san a smile.

"You're a good person, Tatsumiya-san." The ghost told the half-demon honestly.

"Thank hell for Pactios." Kazumi-san muttered before passing out.

"Kazumi-san!" Sayo cried out in alarm as she rushed to her friend's side.

"Take it easy, she's just zonked out." Chamo-san sniggered. "It's just magical exhaustion from forming the Pactio with her tiny magical reserves. I guess her first time was too much for her, ha!"

"Oh, but w-what if this happens again in the future?!" Sayo fretted even more so, unsure what to do. "Should I stop using it? I don't want to hurt Kazumi-san!"

"Nah, nah!" Chamo-san waved one of his cute little paws to ease her worry. "Given time and repeated use, much like a muscle, she'll get better at it. In fact, this Pactio will be good exercise for her. So long term? Huge benefits! It'll suck at the start, but that's what ya get for a new work out."

"I-I see." Sayo nodded.

_I promise, Kazumi-san! I'll work really hard so you don't have to push yourself so hard for me ever again, I swear it!_ There was a strange shifting sensation as Sayo thought this, as the anchor for her unlife moved from the idea of the A-class of Mahora Academy Middle School for Girls to Kazumi-san. _Thank you for giving me this chance! I'll protect you from now onwards._

The quiet tableau inside the classroom was shattered when Kagurazaka-san popped her head into the room.

"Great! One more person to carry back to the dorms." The orangette said as she surveyed the scene before her. "Like carrying the would-be exorcists outside wasn't bad enough."

"Oh, stop complaining Asuna," Konoka-san said as she walked in. "At least everything is over. It is, isn't it, Tatsumiya-san?"

The mercenary rolled her eyes, clearly tired of answering the question a second time, but nodded.

"Great! Then let's get everyone back to the dorms!" The Dean's granddaughter said with a happy clap. "It's late and everyone needs their rest for classes tomorrow!"

Everyone, even Tatsumiya-san, groaned at the thought of classes tomorrow, but Sayo just chuckled. Sometimes being a tireless undead rocked!

* * *

The next day, after class had ended for the day, Ranma sat in the partially decorated 3-A classroom watching as Aisaka-san stood in front of the whole class and bowed in apology.

"I'm so sorry, everyone!" Aisaka-san as she rose from her bow and looked through her bangs. "I didn't mean to scare anyone. I just wanted to prank everyone because you all keep forgetting that I exist. I just want to be your friend."

For a moment there was silence, then suddenly the classroom exploded with noise as almost everyone shouted their enthusiastic agreement and welcome.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ranma said to herself with a shake of her head as things quickly evolved into an impromptu welcome party.

"'Cos it's expected?" Konoka-san said as she sat down in Haruna's vacated seat. Her sister having run off to join the brewing madness at the front of the class.

Ranma just rolled her eyes.

"True, I guess." The petite redhead replied. "Though I'm surprised that things worked out so well. We're so lucky that Aisaka-san's Pactio allows her to interact with the world as if she was a living person."

Suddenly Chamo poked his head out of the neckline of Konoka's uniform shirt, much to Ranma's annoyance but the brunette's amusement, and chimed in with his own two cents.

"It's not really much of a surprise." The ermine fairy said. "Pactio artifacts always somehow reflect what the Ministra wants and there was nothing Ghost-chan wanted more than to interact with the living."

"Pactios are bullshit." Ranma surmised with a knitted brow.

Konoka-san ignored Ranma's comment and instead turned down to look at the perverted fairy snuggling in her bust. "How does that relate to enhancing her ghostly powers?"

"Bullshit powers of love and friendship?"

"You really need to let this go." Konoka-san smiled at Ranma weakly.

"Never." The redhead crossed her arms in a huff.

"Ignoring Ranma-san's cynicism and hypocrisy."

"Hey!" Ranma shouted in indignation. "I already apologized to the Slime Sisters!"

"Doesn't change what you did," the damned ermine said with a dismissive wave of one of his paws. "Anyways, as I was saying, materializing is something ghosts become capable of eventually. So Ghost-chan's Pactio artifact just took the easy route and boosted her powers rather than giving her new ones."

Ranma frowned at getting dismissed but let it go. She knew pushing it would get her nowhere.

"At least we don't have detention. Negi-kun was pretty upset with Kazumi-chan for doing something so dangerous while still being a beginner at magic." Konoka-san pointed out, her finger tapping her chin.

"She's lucky Shishou covered for her and ordered us to help her." Ranma said with a glance at the aforementioned vampire who was reading something, an unknown grimoire if Ranma was correct, and ignoring the madness that their class had descended into.

"Nah, Aniki wouldn't have given you lot detention." Chamo said with a shake of his head. "He's too happy with the results."

Ranma couldn't disagree with that line of thinking. Everything _had_ worked out for the best. Everyone, especially Asakura-san and Aisaka-san, looked happy.

"Onee-sama, Konoka-san, what are you two doing here?" Haruna said as she returned with Asuna-san and Ucchan in tow.

"Yeah, you two, stop being sourpusses and join the party." Asuna-san said as she wrapped her arm around one of Konoka-san's arms.

"You too, Ucchan?" Ranma asked her best friend with a raised eyebrow.

"If you can't beat them, join them." Ucchan said with a shrug.

Ranma glanced at the front of the classroom and saw that the party was in full swing. Class Rep had somehow produced food and drinks from somewhere even, whilst someone had managed to set up some music to play in the background.

"We have so many parties." Ranma couldn't help but state with a giggle.

"Like I said, stop being a sourpuss!" Asuna-san said even as Haruna pulled Ranma out of her seat.

Bowing to the inevitable, Ranma allowed herself to be dragged into the party by her sister alongside Konoka-san.

_I guess it's time to party._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> And thus, the friendly ghost Sayo has entered the picture! With an upgrade like nothing else in her timid little ghostly fingers. I worry for the future. Still, Kazumi is starting out to be a bit more than a spy and info gal. Like a lot of the girls, we felt Kazumi was a touch underrated in the original work. Like many, she's getting an upgrade. She already has demon secretaries. What else could she get? XD
> 
> Nameless: I hope you guys like how we've chosen to develop Kazumi. What we've shown of her magic is only the beginning. We have plans. Very interesting plans. Stay tuned to see what exactly what those plans are. ;) As a hint though, her teaming up with Sayo is indicative of just what kinda mage she'll end up as.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	26. Mahora Festival - Minus 7 Days - Specter of the Past

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Mahora Festival - Minus 7 Days - Specter of the Past**

**Beta:**

* * *

Tendo Kasumi barely managed to keep up her mask of apathy that she'd taken to wearing since her mother's death and she took over as their family's homemaker as they walked through the streets of the labyrinthine Mahora campus on the fool's errand her father had dragged them on.

Apparently the child of his old training partner and best friend, Saotome Genma, - Someone that he had conveniently never told his daughters about! - had dishonored their father - Daddy didn't even know the child's gender for certain! - and some pact to unite their two families' branches of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū (Anything Goes Martial Arts). The latter being another detail that was news to the Tendo daughters. And this _somehow_ meant Daddy had to go hunt down this child and claim the stewardship of the Saotome family's branch of the school. Though he never explained how he would do so!

All these sudden revelations, lack of proper explanations and this fool's errand was enough to want to make Kasumi scream! But she refrained with great effort. Being the perfect homemaker, the perfect wife, was the only selling point she could reasonably offer any future husband. And if she wanted out of the madness of her insane father's house, then she had to cultivate it. That meant not breaking character to strangle answers out of her useless sire, no matter how much she wanted to!

Nabiki had no such hesitation.

"Daddy, this is a _very_ bad idea." Her middle sister said for the umpteenth time.

"Nonsense, Nabiki." Daddy said with the confident swagger he only seemed to have when he was at his most insane. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, Nabiki. Trust Touchan." Akane, her nitwit of a little sister, said like the sycophant that she had always been. Then again Kasumi did not expect any better from Daddy's little princess.

"But-"

"Stop with your delaying tactics, Nabiki." Daddy said, suddenly becoming all stern. "Or I'll be confiscating your earnings for this month."

"Earnings? I dunno what you're talking about Daddy." Nabiki said nervously and Kasumi just managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Did her middle sister honestly think no one in the family knew about all the underhanded and sometimes illicit means, of which compensated dating was the _least_ of the things she was involved in, with which she was earning money on the side? Or that playing dumb about it helped?

The scoffs from Daddy and Akane showed how ludicrous her denials were.

"Okay, fine. But I'm doing this under protest okay?" Nabiki said at last, caving.

"Good, now stop leading us in circles and show us to a spot where we can ambush that traitorous brat."

"This way," Nabiki said with a resigned sigh. "There's a path to her dorms that my sources say she frequents."

_So the Ranma child was a girl after all?_ Kasumi thought, suppressing the frown at the thought of them ganging up on a girl that if she remembered correctly was Akane's age.

"Oh, I can't wait to beat her!" Akane declared eagerly as they followed through the streets of the expansive campus. "Maybe after that we can go celebrate? They are about to hold a festival here in a week and there are some stalls open already, right? We can try some of them before heading home!"

"Akane, try to keep that bloodlust in. Remember you're still on parole for all those assaults you call fights." Nabiki warned their moronic sister. Honestly, with how violent she was, the stupid little girl was never going to get married at this rate.

"Please, that was just me dealing with the Morning Hordes. The charges will be dismissed soon enough, they always are."

"Yeah, but this isn't Nerima and if you have one of your little episodes _here_ , it won't just be washed away. So control yourself, idiot."

"I don't have episodes, Nabiki!"

"Of course not, dear. You are a warrior, why not show your prowess?" Daddy said, inflating the idiot girl's ego as he always did.

Where was this love and kindness as she grew up? Due to the fact the man could never sire a son, especially after mother's passing, he just decided to turn Akane into his heir since herself and Nabiki 'just didn't have the proper mindset' - his words -. Or were simply old enough to see that the Martial Artist life he envisioned for his heir was too insane for them.

"Oh, I will Touchan. I will beat that stupid Ranma girl black and blue."

"Atta girl."

Even as the two idiots fantasized about carrying out an assault on a minor, Kasumi just shot Nabiki a worried look, one that was thankfully shared.

"I'll do my best?" Nabiki mouthed back to Kasumi's unspoken plea to somehow salvage the mess she was sure would come from all this.

_And I hope that'll be enough._ Kasumi thought even as she _knew_ it wouldn't be.

* * *

"There you are, you little traitor!" Ranma heard an unfamiliar voice shout at her as she was walking back from the Library Island one day after spending an afternoon reading up on ancient magic and getting ideas for new spells for her Corrosion Element. As extensive as Shishou's libraries were, even they could not compare with the collection of Library Island and there were some rare references that could only be found there.

Spinning around Ranma found the source of the voice to be a middle aged man with shoulder length hair and a mustache dressed in a brown gi. He was trailed by a trio of girls. The eldest was a homely looking young woman that looked about high school age. Next to her was a slightly younger girl, maybe a high school freshman, with chin-length brown hair in a bob cut. Both looked mortified by the man's forwardness which was a stark contrast to the last girl, a short girl roughly Ranma's age with bluish black hair dressed in a light yellow gi, who was nodding along to the man's - Their father? - rude behavior.

"Do I know you?" Ranma asked the man warily.

"Don't play dumb, Ranma!" The man shouted as he stomped over to loom over the petite redhead. "I am Tendo Soun, surely your father would have told you who I am."

_Was this man one of Otouchan and Okaasan's friends?_

"Otouchan never mentioned you or anyone named Tendo," Ranma said cautiously as she backed away from the man she was increasingly coming to suspect was a lunatic.

"Never mentioned?" The potential crazy scoffed. "Like Genma would forget to mention his old training partner!"

"G-Genma?" Ranma hissed, in a mixture of horror and unbridled rage.

"Yes, Genma, your father, you ungra-"

"Call that pathetic parasite my _father_ again, and just see what happens to your sorry excuse of a manhood. Now leave me alone or I'm going to call campus security." Ranma said dismissively, using all of her formidable self-control to restrain herself from going postal on the jerk.

"Your father is a hundred times the man you are," the crazy raved.

"Yes. Because I am a _girl_." Ranma shouted, losing the battle to contain herself and turning to glare at the man. "Or are you blind as well as stupid?"

"Yes, which is why I am here." The man sniffed disdainfully. "You are a dishonorable girl who has brought shame to her family and who has ruined our families' pact to unite our branches of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū."

"I don't give a damn about your martial arts school but you will not question my honor." Ranma said, her glare intensifying and unknown to her, her eyes began to glow inhumanly. "You want to combine your little fight clubs, have that parasite fuck your kids. Leave me out of it."

"Things are not so simple. One cannot just forfeit the right to a school, not without grave dishonor."

"I did. I burned it. Stomped it. And flushed it."

"Is that so? Then Akane," the man said, turning to the youngest of the girls following him.

"Yes, Tousan?" The girl asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet in eager anticipation.

"Defeat this honorless cur and claim stewardship of the Saotome branch of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū for our family."

"Yeah, you can have it. Like I said, you can keep that dumpster fire." Ranma said with a sigh as she dodged out of the way of the girl as she tried to kick her. "And are you really attacking someone who has no desire to fight back? That's assault you know. It's going to suck when you get arrested. A pretty thing like you in prison? I almost feel bad."

"Daddy, this is a very bad idea!" The middle daughter cried out in alarm even as Ranma evaded another of her younger sister's attacks, this time a sloppy kenpō combo.

"It must be done, Nabiki." The father declared with a frankly insane sounding pomposity. "The honor of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū demands it!"

"The police don't care about honor!" The middle daughter shouted at him, even as Ranma sidestepped his youngest.

"Daddy listen to Nabiki! Akane stop!"

"I can't just-!" The youngest girl started, but her oldest sister shouted over her.

"No. You stop right now, young lady!

"Akane, don't listen to Kasumi. Beat that girl!" The mad father shouted.

The youngest Tendo girl looked conflicted for a moment but a glance at the encouraging, even proud look on her father's face seemed to cement her choice for her and ignoring her sisters' pleas she launched into another attack, throwing a series of decently fast punches at Ranma.

"I don't want to fight. So really, you are just being a bully here. You must feel so proud. I hope getting arrested does you some good." Ranma told the other girl with a shake of her head as she casually evaded every one of her punches with the ease of someone who regularly trained with someone capable of significantly better. Negi-sensei it seemed wasn't just a genius magician but a talented martial artist as well if his progress under Kū Fei-san's tutelage was any indication.

But this farce had gone on long enough. Ranma really wanted it to end so she could just go back to her dorm and have a good soak in the baths. It had been a long day and she wanted a rest. So she decided to finally stop entertaining the poor girl who seemed to mistakenly think herself a skilled martial artist, as such the mage flared her killer intent.

It wasn't much. Despite her past, Ranma wasn't really much of an aggressive or hateful person. Well, unless you were specific people that is. But Tendo Akane was not one of them and so the burst of killer intent that swept over her wasn't really anything special.

Thus it surprised the hell out of Ranma that instead of just scaring the other girl for a long enough of a moment for her to make a break for it, it instead had her screaming bloody murder for a second before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out.

_Holy crap! Just how soft is this girl!?_ The redhead mage thought as she looked on incredulously as her wannabe opponent crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"Akane!" The girl's father cried out in alarm even as his other two daughters rushed over to their sister's side to check her over. "You'll pay for that, you ungrateful witch!"

"Pay for what exactly?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was just defending myself."

"Is that so? Well, try defending yourself against me! _Ganjōna Ishi_ (Unyielding Stone)! _Tainai Kaminari_ (Inner Lightning)!"

Ranma blinked in surprise as she saw the man use his ki to harden his body and gain a stone like constitution, greatly increasing his durability and strength at the cost of his speed and agility. Though he partially made up for that by using his second technique to enhance his nervous system to bring his reaction times, speed and agility back up to normal levels.

Even though she was caught by surprise by the middle aged man's skill, Ranma was being trained by the Dark Evangel herself and the moment her opponent began enhancing herself, she had, acting more on ingrained training than anything else, proceeded to do the same by silently casting her own standard suite of combat boosters consisting of _Venator Sphaeram_ (Hunter Aura), _Armis Testa_ (Shell Armor), and _Volant_ (fly) on herself. She was thus easily able to spin out of the way of the spiked Kanabō (two-handed Japanese war club) that the martial artist drew from some spatially distorted fold of his gi and used in an attempt to bash her head in.

"You keep this up and I'll call out stranger danger. After all, you're invading our campus and assaulting an innocent little girl? Tsk tsk!"

Both the man's conscious daughters gasped and paled at the threat but their father didn't seem to have even heard it.

"You dodged that huh?" The man said with a malicious grin on his face. "Let's see just how long you can manage to dodge the Founder and Master of the famous _Fudō no ishi ryu_ (Unmoving Stone School) and _Gōon no raimei ryu_ (Roaring Thunderclap School)!"

"Never heard of them," Ranma said honestly.

The man seemed to take her honesty as a taunt however and he unleashed a furious growl before once more going on the offensive as with a cry of " _Raimei_ (Thunderclap)!" he slammed his weapon into the ground and caused it to explode with the sound equivalent to a thunderclap.

The sound didn't bother Ranma but the shrapnel sure as hell did and she was thankful she'd had the foresight to have cast _Armis Testa_ as her magical armor saved her from a hefty amount of bruises.

"I should really call stranger danger on you, you know that?" Ranma hissed. "That could've really hurt you know that, you psycho?"

"Daddy, listen to her!" The man's middle daughter all but screamed. "If she does that, we'll be ruined! Stop!"

"I'll show you danger! _Tomaranai Ganseki_ (Unstoppable Rockslide)!" The man cried out as he lashed out with his Kanabō in a series of high-speed blows that Ranma easily danced around.

Ranma just raised an eyebrow, expressing just how unimpressed she was by the man's technique.

"You're nimble huh, well try this then! _Raiu_ (Thunderstorm)!" The supposed martial arts master shouted as he simply continued with high-speed thrusts with his Kanabō.

"Isn't that just the same technique?" Ranma asked, both taunting and genuinely questioning at the same time.

"Shut up! _Gōon no raimei ryu Ogi: Raijin no ken_ (Roaring Thunderclap School Secret Technique: Fist of the Thunder God)!" The man screamed as he slammed his Kanabō into the ground and unleashed a powerful burst of ki conjured electricity that surged all around him.

Caught entirely by surprise that her opponent could actually pull off such a modestly impressive technique, Ranma did not evade the attack and was shocked by the electrical surge that proceeded to temporarily paralyze her.

Capitalizing on this moment of weakness as Ranma's surged magic through her body to overcome her paralysis, the middle aged man went on the offensive.

" _Raiga_ (Lightning Fang)!" He cried as he infused his weapon with lightning ki and slammed it into Ranma's chest.

Unable to move her body, Ranma was forced to take the hit. As much as the man's techniques were subpar at best, they packed a hefty punch and she fully expected them to easily shatter her _Armis Testa_ and it did, but what happened next came as a surprise. With her protective armor breached, she fully expected a burst of intense pain from the blow but she barely felt anything at all as the site of the impact against her chest spontaneously transformed into slime which harmlessly diffused the force of the blow.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" The Tendo patriarch cried out in shock as he leapt back.

"No idea," Ranma admitted with a shrug as she fully regained control of her body. "But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. You done? 'Cos it's about time I think that I returned the favour a little."

"Bring it, you witch!" The crazy man said as he moved into a defensive stance.

_Corrosion element is probably too much for the likes of this weakling, so I guess I'll go with-_

" _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ (Magic Arrow, Dark Series)." Ranma incanted in a whisper, sending dozens of shadow bolts flying at her opponent.

To her surprise, the man actually used _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement) to move out of the way of the attack and appear above her.

" _Doki no yoroi_ (Earthen Armor)!" He shouted, using his ki to conjure a ki construct in the shape of earthen armor over his body and curling himself into a ball, effectively transforming himself into a falling boulder.

_Neat trick._ Ranma thought as she used _Volant_ to blur out of the way of the impact zone. _He might not be strong but he's wily._

"But that's not good enough." Ranma declared with finality as she pooled her magic for the spell that would end this at last. "I didn't want to use this against the likes of someone like you but I guess you've surpassed my expectations. _Erugo Radior_ (Corrosion Ray)!"

At her invocation, a beam of deadly entropic energy shot from the magic circle that briefly flashed into being in front of her and barreled down at her opponent.

Instead of dodging, the madman instead stood his ground and called on his ki.

" _Kaze no henkō_ (Wind Deflection)! _Fudō no ishi ryu_ Ogi: _Yama no Seitai_ (Unmoving Stone School Secret Technique: Mountain Firmament)!" He shouted, conjuring a barrier of wind in front of himself even as ki suffused his body and strengthened his body.

The barrier actually managed to deflect a portion of Ranma's spell and the hardening technique actually allowed the Tendo patriarch to weather the beam a lot longer than she expected, but in the end it was futile and after a mere minute of exposure the man's consciousness was blasted into oblivion.

"Don't worry he's just unconscious," Ranma assured the man's daughters disinterestedly as she cut off the spell and he toppled to the ground. "I made sure to stop before I did any permanent damage."

A few sirens rang out in the distance, causing Ranma to smirk. "Finally, not a moment too soon. Sucks to be you girls."

She jeered at the two Tendo daughters that didn't attack her. Even though they hadn't actually done anything to her, the fact they travelled here with them for this dumb stunt was enough to earn her ire. She was more than happy to let them watch their family burn for their idiocy.

* * *

"Please officer, you have to believe me." Nabiki pleaded with the police officer that was in charge of the team that had arrived on the scene and were in the process of arresting Daddy and Akane. "It was just a martial arts spar, really!"

"We have those all the time," the man said with a shake of his head. "But our martial artists have the self-control to not wreck half the street."

Nabiki tried her best not to glance at the ruined street and several street lights laying flat on the ground.

"It was Saotome-san's fault too?" She tried half-heartedly.

"That might've worked if we didn't have footage of the whole thing." He said as he pointed to a nearby police surveillance camera. "It showed her trying to de-escalate it while the other two just kept attacking her."

"But she did shoot that beam at the end," Kasumi chimed in, sounding hopeful.

"In self defense." The officer reminded them. "Besides she kept it contained. It looked flashy but there was no damage to any property and all it did was knock her attacker out. So she didn't break any laws there."

"Nabiki?" Kasumi asked questioningly, with just a tinge of desperation in her tone.

Ugh, usually hearing her normally unflappable elder sister ruffled like this would make her day. Getting Little Miss Perfect Homemaker to drop the mask, even a little? It was quite an achievement.

Oh, she didn't hate her elder sister. But she did resent her. While she had adopted the role of homemaker and used it as training to become the perfect bride in a bid to hook a man and marry her way out of their dysfunctional home, Nabiki could not take that route. A family didn't need two homemakers after all. So instead she'd had to find another way to work towards her escape.

For her that meant building a tidy nest egg of money that she could use to wean herself off dependence on Daddy's money. If that meant doing some unsavory things like a little underage prostitution to get the dough or worse, then so be it. She'd do _anything_ to get away from the insanity that was Daddy's brand of martial arts.

That resolve was tested however as she looked at her father and little sister be put into seperate police cars.

"I'll get you guys the best lawyers we can afford." She promised them.

Even if she had to dip into her own personal funds.

Shit, this was just going to suck.

Maybe she could milk some cash out of that idiot Tatewaki? Maybe sell him some of Akane's stuff since he was so into her?

"I'll make the call to Tatewaki myself if you don't mind Nabiki," Kasumi said, causing Nabiki to look at her elder sister in shock.

Ignoring her look, Kasumi continued. "If needs be we can arrange a visit between him and Akane after he gets her out. I believe you know a suitable love hotel?"

"K-Kasumi?"

"Don't look so surprised Nabiki." Kasumi said with a grim frown. "You _know_ I am more than I make myself appear to be. Now is not the time for games. If we don't make this go away we could lose everything, with Daddy in jail and not around to manage the investments that are our only source of income, or more accurately sign the documents you give him to do so-"

"We'll be on the streets in weeks," Nabiki finished. "But what you're suggesting-"

"It's time, don't you think, that Akane actually helped our family survive instead of making the task more difficult? Though hopefully it won't come to it. Perhaps Tatewaki will be satisfied with just the contents of her wardrobe."

"Who knows, maybe granny panties might be his thing?" Nabiki snorted or at least tried to. Acting unconcerned with the prospect of prostituting off her own little sister… That was tough, even for her! Selling her own body and helping to facilitate the same for other willing girls was one thing, but this… This was cold...

Kasumi really was a cold hearted bitch when she wanted to be. More than Nabiki ever imagined.

"Don't look at me like that," The heartless woman that was her elder sister said with a shrug. "We all do what we must to survive."

Gulping nervously, Nabiki nodded. That much was true at least.

_I'm going to have to rethink everything I knew about Kasumi after this…_ Who knew such a monster hid under the mask she wore?

* * *

"And that's it officer." Ranma said as she finished giving her statement to the Police. "Need anything else from me?"

"Nope, Ranma-san. You're free to go. Want us to give you a ride back to your dorm?"

"Thanks officer, but there's no need. It's just a short walk from here. I can manage."

"If you're sure," the officer said and Ranma nodded. "Then run along now. We'll contact you again if we need any follow up."

"Understood. Thank you." Ranma said as she offered the policeman a polite bow before making a move.

Though not before she stopped to take a minute to watch with satisfaction as the Tendo patriarch and his idiot youngest daughter were hauled off with the two other Tendo daughters looking on worried and resigned.

_The idiots deserve everything they get._ Ranma thought with a snort as she began walking towards the remaining Tendos. If the dumbasses couldn't even be bothered to set up wards or some such to keep their fight from spilling over to the public realm or make arrangements with the authorities to have matters taken care of in the aftermath like the Magic Associations do, then it's their own damn fault if they get in trouble with the law.

"I hope this doesn't happen again." She warned the two sisters. "Maybe some time in lockup will do the pair some good. Tell that jerk that I don't give a damn what that parasite Genma promised him, leave me alone. Maybe if he had some actual sense, he wouldn't have ruined his life."

The older girls looked at her, the younger of the two disgruntled while the older one looked apathetic, as if she honestly didn't care.

"We can't make promises," The older girl said with a very insincere smile. "Our father and sister are volatile, but we will try to talk sense into them."

"You better hope you succeed." Ranma warned. "'Cos the next time this happens? I might not be feeling so generous as to stop with knocking them out."

Ranma surprised herself by making the threat. She wasn't usually so ruthless even when she bluffed. But this was no bluff. She was being honest. It should've scared her that she was acting so out of character, but it didn't. If anything she felt she was being overly charitable offering the fools a simple death if they crossed her again. And _that_ scared her. Okay, it only unnerved her. But that just made it worse.

"W-We'll take that under consideration." The middle Tendo girl said nervously even as her elder sister just smirked and nodded.

"May we never have to see each other again," The elder girl said with a nod as she turned to walk away. "Nabiki come, we have a call to make and lawyers to hire."

The younger Tendo flinched at her sister's words for some reason but nevertheless hastily followed after her.

"Wonder what's that about?" Ranma mused for a moment before dismissing it entirely for more important considerations. "Not that I care. Time to get home and get that soak I wanted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> So! As you can see, we added our own little twists on how the other Tendo girls since, you know, they're just there in canon. At least Kasumi. Nabiki just makes a scheme or something. Some of it is pretty twisted, but if we take the gag out of Ranma and a lot of things, as we've done before, it is actually really messed up. Let's be honest, how much do we actually know about Kasumi? She's mostly background and Nabiki is all about that paper to get out of dodge. Akane is just… Soun's attempt to have an heir in martial arts. And it's gone to her ego too. This is way before the canon of Ranma starts, but that's derailed hard, haha.
> 
> Nameless: As you can tell we gave a more in depth Kasumi and Nabiki characterization than canon did. Or perhaps a divergent one. Basically, we just decided to try to give justifications for why they were both the way they were in canon and things just went from there. We didn't set out to make Kasumi a heartless monster hiding under a mask of being a loving but detached homemaker. It kinda just happened. And once it did? Well, we liked it too much to change it. Forgive us.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	27. Mahora Festival - Day 0-1 - Briefing to Start

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Mahora Festival - Day 0-1 - Briefing to Start**

**Beta:**

* * *

"So thanks to the gathered power that the World Tree is emanating, anyone who makes a wish in its vicinity during this time will have it come true. Sure, it's not enough to make anything world-altering but more localized changes? That's entirely within its power." Takahata-sensei explained to the gathering of magical teachers and students that the Dean had gathered at the base of the massive World Tree that was at the centre of Mahora's campus. "Combining it with the legend that confessing your love underneath the World Tree on the last day of the festival will mean that the two of you will be together forever and we have a problem."

"That is insane. I understand that the World Tree holds some lingering magic in it, with the roots dug into a ley line, but-" One of the magical students that Ranma didn't recognize, a girl from St. Ursula High School, said and she rolled her eyes.

"It happens every twenty two years. That's a lot of lingering magic to pool together. Is it really surprising that it can manage that?" Ranma countered.

"I suppose if you put it that way…" The older girl said thoughtfully.

"We just have to look out for ninety percent of those on campus. This is the time where people let out love confessions left, right and center. This is going to be hell…" The petite redhead confessed.

"I think you're exaggerating there, Ranma-chan." Takahata-sensei said with a chuckle. "But yes, this will be difficult to handle. That's why we're going to approach this methodically and carry out overwatch of the World Tree park in shifts to prevent people from making confessions and accidentally triggering its power."

"Is the Magic Association at least giving us backup on this? I mean, this seems like the situation for them to do so, Sensei."

"We have called in as many agents as we can spare," Kuzunoha-sensei said with a nod. "However, this is an all hands on deck situation and thus we are appealing to all of you to assist as well."

"And as outstanding students of Mahora, you will all be willing to do so right?" A unfamiliar high school teacher that had previously introduced herself as Ninomiya Hinako said leadingly and was met with a series of affirmatives, some more willing than others, from the gathered students.

Even as Ranma herself nodded, she couldn't help but frown. Just being in Ninomiya-sensei's presence put her on edge. The strange mix of ki and magic that permeated the aura of the tall, shapely woman with long dark hair was deeply unsettling.

"Oh? Ninomiya-sensei." Negi-sensei said with a smile. "I see your transfer was finalized. Sorry for not noticing you were here until now. I was late so I must've missed your introduction."

"Yes, and not a moment too soon with what is going on!" The elegant woman nodded firmly. "As for not noticing me, Springfield-kun, that lack of awareness is bad! And please try to be prompt to these meetings."

Negi-sensei laughed self-deprecatingly at that and nodded. "I'll try."

The woman nodded. "Do that."

"Ahem," Takahata-sensei said, clearing his throat. "Can I continue?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry Takamichi." Negi-sensei said with an apologetic bow.

"Apologies," Ninomiya-sensei said with an apologetic nod of her own. "Please do."

"Thank you. As I was saying, schedules for shifts on watch duty will be sent to you all shortly." Takahata-sensei said with a smile. "Alright. I only have one last thing to say before I let you all go. There has been some worrying news about a student, Chao Lingshen of Class 3-A from Mahora Girls' Jr. High, so I want all of you to be on the lookout for any suspicious activities on her part."

"Eh? Chao-san? There wasn't anything in the notes you gave me about her that warranted this worry."

"Not in the class roster, Negi," Takahata-sensei said with a sigh. "But they were included in the latest weekly report. Didn't you read it?"

"Uh, I haven't gotten to it yet." Negi-sensei said with a nervous chuckle. "Been a little busy lately."

"That was irresponsible of you," Ninomiya-sensei said accusingly.

"Yes, it was. Please be more prompt in reading those reports, Negi-sensei." Kuzunoha-sensei said with a disapproving shake of her head.

Ranma couldn't help but smirk in amusement at the scolding Negi-sensei was getting. It was like all the senior teachers were teasing him or something.

"We will speak to Negi-sensei and chide him on his behavior on our own." Takahata-sensei said with a sigh. "The rest of you are free to go."

With that everyone began to disperse.

"Oh man, poor Negi-sensei." Haruna said as she shook her head. "He's going to get a grilling."

"Looks like," Ranma agreed. "Ninomiya-sensei sounds like she really is going all out on him."

The teachers were all keeping their voices down but from what she was hearing it seemed that Ninomiya-sensei was giving Negi-sensei a stern lecture not only on his forgetting to read the Kanto Association's weekly reports but also the 'deplorable conduct' he has supposedly engaging in with his students.

"Should we wait for him?" Nodoka-san asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Nah, Kagurazaka-san and Konoka-san are already doing that." Ranma said with a shake of her head and began walking off. "I'm sure they're more than enough to make sure he gets home safe."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Haruna said, putting a hand on her shoulder and pinning Ranma in place with her super strength.

Nodoka-san nodded.

"That's not fair Ninomiya-sensei!" Yue-san said suddenly. "Negi-sensei never behaved in a 'deplorable' way!"

"Yeah, you don't know what's going on in our class. Negi-kun is the sweetest teacher we've ever had." Konoka-san pouted, trying her best to look angry, but coming off as putout.

This positive sentiment for Negi-sensei was soon echoed by most of the gathered students of 3-A. Most of them anyway.

"And what do you have to say Ranma-san?" Ninomiya-sensei said, looking at Ranma expectantly. "You have been awfully quiet."

"I don't see how a new sensei like you has a right to just come in and judge someone who's been here longer." Ranma scoffed at the woman.

"I suppose you're correct there." Ninomiya-sensei allowed. "Very well, I will drop the matter for now." Turning to Negi-sensei she continued. "The loyalty you have earned from your students is very impressive, Negi-sensei. Congratulations."

"Uh, thank you?" Negi-sensei said, looking uncertain and unsure of what to say.

Ninomiya-sensei just nodded and turned to leave.

"Can we go now?" Ranma asked Haruna with a tired sigh.

"Sure," Haruna said with a teasing grin. "You want to go spend some time with Eva-sama don't you, Onee-sama?"

"I do have a spar scheduled with Shishou in a bit," Ranma admitted with a shrug.

"Is that with tongues or hands?"

"H-Haruna!" Ranma squeaked, her face red with both embarrassment and annoyance. "We do not do _that_ kind of sparring."

"In public." The green haired girl nodded with a lecherous grin.

"You will stop spouting that right now, o-or I'll get angry with you!" Ranma demanded of her sister, who just looked away with a smirk.

"Okay, I won't talk about your pre-sparring rituals." Haruna conceded, "But I still have opinions on whether you start with first base or second."

"Ugh!"

As they walked away at last, and Ranma endured Haruna's teasing, they passed by Kuzunoha-sensei and Gandolfini-sensei having a conversation and she overheard something that had the redhead freezing in place.

"A panda, really?" Gandolfini-sensei asked, incredulously.

"Yes, it's been spotted wandering the school grounds." Kuzunoha-sensei affirmed. "We're operating under the assumption it's an escapee from a zoo, likely an illegal private one since there have been no reports of an escaped panda from any of the public zoos."

 _A p-panda?_ Ranma thought as her face paled unnaturally and lost some of its human appearance, looking almost slime like. _Is it Genma!? It can't be, right?_

"Onee-sama? You okay?" Haruna asked worriedly.

"Sorry, just a weird thought. I'm probably just hungry or something." Ranma answered, her mouth feeling dry.

_Yeah, it can't be. Genma should be in prison. It can't be him._

* * *

The next day was the first day of the Mahora Festival and Ranma found herself carrying out one of her shifts at the 3-A haunted house. Thanks to her petite frame and love of fancy dresses, she'd been voluntold as tribute to play the part of a living doll. So dressed in one of her lolita dresses, one that Shishou had said made her look delectable much to her pride, and with Chachazero sitting in her lap to join the fun they spent the day scaring the living daylights out of visitors to their attraction through a variety of jump scares. Even the Slime Sisters had joined in the fun, though they had initially gone a little too far and almost burned some of the guests, earning themselves a scolding. Thankfully after that and learning some restraint they were able to join in just fine.

"Okay, one last set." Kazumi-san said as she snapped away at her camera to capture Ranma in all her 'creepy glory' - the wannabe journalist's own words - as she posed with her familiars.

"Man, you really have that cute/creepy factor going on. Truly, Ranma-chan is reaching the pinnacle of gap moe." Sayo-san said with a grin.

"Coming from a ghost, I'll take that as a compliment." Ranma said with a chuckle. "Kazumi-san, are we done?"

"Yup," her fellow redhead said with a thumbs up. "Sayo is right though, you look good. I can take more photos of you during your next shift. But for now, go snuggle with that Overlady of yours."

Ranma rolled her eyes at the tease.

"You can stop by again later tonight then," Ranma informed her as she hopped off the ornate chair she'd been sitting on and stretched a little. "I have the evening shift today too."

"Two shifts in a row? Ouch," Kazumi-san said with a sympathetic wince.

"It's how the draw went," Ranma said with a shrug. "I'm going to grab lunch. Want to join me?"

"We can chat about how to scare people better!" Chachazero said, waving the knives she'd materialized from _somewhere_ at Sayo-san who backed away warily.

"Uh, maybe next time?" Kazumi-san said, looking between her guardian spirit and Ranma's doll familiar warily.

"Boo, you're unfun. At least the ghosty gets how it is." Chachazero huffed with annoyance.

"Uh, Zero-sempai, I think Sayo-san is the one who's upset." Ameko, the most polite of the Slime Sisters, said with a confused tilt of her head.

"Is she? Really?" Zero said, sounding surprised, even though by now Sayo-san was literally cowering behind Kazumi-san.

"I think we'll just go now," Ranma said with a tired sigh. "Catch up with you later Kazumi-san, Sayo-san."

"Yeah, see you later Ranma-san."

"Bye, Ranma-san."

With that the redhead left to grab something to eat.

"I wonder if anyone is free to join me? Maybe Ucchan?" Ranma asked aloud as she and her familiars trooped out of the converted 3-A classroom, the monsters moving freely due to the more open atmosphere of the Festival.

"I think Ucchan-sama is at the silly Martials Arts tournament, Ranma-sama." Suramui said with a disgusted snort even as the ever silent Pudding nodded in agreement with her sister.

"Oh? Dang, I wish I could go cheer her on at least. Stupid second shift." Ranma pouted as she held Chachazero closer for comfort. "Maybe during the next round? I mean, Ucchan's bound to make it through the prelims."

"She'll slice and dice her opponents!" Zero cheered enthusiastically.

Shaking her head in fond exasperation at her murderous doll, Ranma changed the subject.

"So any thoughts on what to get for lunch?"

As the Slime Sisters devolved into friendly bickering over what to eat, or perhaps more accurately what they wanted to dissolve, Ranma just smiled. _If the rest of the Festival was as good as today is turning out to be, it's going to be great._

Sadly fate had other plans for our little heroine.

* * *

 _Where the hell did Chao-san get the money to do this?_ Ukyo couldn't help but think as she stood in the arena that now housed the Martial Arts Tournament. It had originally been a number of smaller tournaments but somehow her classmate had bought them all out and merged them all together into a single grand event, even booking the rather impressive oriental stadium - straight out of a kung fu movie - to serve as its venue.

 _Better think about it later._ Ukyo thought as she ducked under the punch of the world famous boxer Makunouchi Ippo-san, who had joined for a sport of fun or so the announcer had claimed when he'd introduced the man. The tanned man with black, short shaggy hair and thick eyebrows might have retired from competition a few years back but he was still very much in shape. In fact, he was fast. Very fast. At least for someone not using ki to enhance their movements. It actually made her feel bad for some reason as she used the bokken - Something she'd had to fall back on since no real weapons were permitted - to counter attack by striking the boxer outside of his hitbox and sending him flying off the arena platform and into the moat with a ki enhanced strike.

Why was she using her ki against someone who couldn't? Well, Chao-san had openly declared it was permitted to do so. Heck she even encouraged it. And if the organiser was doing that and the other competitors were doing so… Then who was Ukyo to hold back?

"Excellent form young lady. Though it seems we are the last in our bracket." An elderly voice informed her.

Ukyo looked around and blinked at how literally all the others in their section of the preliminary were either knocked out or floating in the moat around them. Her eyes turned back to the slightly hunched white haired elderly man in casual martial artist wear and tai-chi slippers.

" _And there's our hometown girl, Kuonji Ukyo progressing into the main tournament along with Master Masahide Yamaoka!"_

"Bang-sensei," Ukyo said, addressing the man by the nickname by which he was better known in Martial Arts circles. "You took out everyone whilst I was fighting Makunouchi-san!?"

_How the hell did he manage that!? My fight with the retired pro boxer lasted less than a minute!_

"Indeed," the old master said with a chuckle as he guided her off the arena and back into the spectating area set aside for competitors. "It seems none of them could stand up to my _Ryūsui Gansai-ken_ (Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist) even in my old age. I almost despair of finding an equal."

Truly the man was a monster of the greatest order in the world of Martial Arts.

"Don't be so cocky, old man." A panda, of all things, said via a sign it flashed at them.

"It seems even beasts have opinions. How fun!" The older man laughed cheerfully.

_...How did a panda join in? What's next? A robot?_

"Do not look down on us beasts," a minotaur with small crane wings growing from his back and a eel sticking out of his lower back retorted.

"Okay, I'm going to the rest area to get away from this crazy train." Ukyo stated, hurrying up her steps because this was just too much weird for her!

"I would think that the successor to Battousai-sama would be able handle it," a girl that embodied the stereotypical appearance of a samurai woman, down to the traditional cut of her hair and the hakama she was wearing said with a disappointed frown.

"There is being able to handle it and wanting to." Ukyo said with a roll of her eyes, earning a laugh from Bang-sensei. "Greetings Aoyama-san. Are you representing the Aoyama branch of the _Shinmei-ryū_ (Gods'-Cry School) in this tournament?"

"No, I merely joined to test my mettle against Sakurazaki-san. It is said that of all Shinmei-ryū practitioners in our generation, she might have the most talent. That and having a chance to face the long thought lost _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ (Flying Heavenly Sword Style) as well? How could I pass up the opportunity?"

"I will do my best not to disappoint then." Ukyo replied with a small bow.

"I am sure you won't," Bang-sensei agreed with a chuckle. "But for now, why don't you join me in the rest area? After that warm up, I'd like some tea."

"I'd be happy to, Bang-sensei." Ukyo agreed as she led the way, nodding in greeting to her classmates who were also participating in the tournament. There were a truly surprising number of them. Then again 3-A was full of crazy strong people who would love to flex their power and skill so maybe she shouldn't have been surprised.

As they were walking away, she heard the announcer begin introducing the participants of the latest round of the preliminary and couldn't help but snort as he named the chimera from earlier.

"Pantyhose Taro!?" She chortled. "That's really his name?"

"An alias perhaps?" Bang-sensei suggested, with an amused smile of his own.

Any amusement died however when she heard the name of the last competitor in the group.

" _-And last but not least, hopefully, we have the self-proclaimed master martial artist and panda, Saotome Genma-san!"_

_Saotome GENMA!?_

* * *

It was late in the evening and the haunted house was finally wrapping up for the day and Ranma was just leaving it after having finished her shift.

"Thanks for all the hard work, Ranma-san" Izumi-san said with a grateful bow, "You were our star attraction today."

"You flatter me Izumi-san, I was just trying my best." Ranma said as she politely returned the bow. "And thank _you_ and the others for helping to pack up for the day."

"Think nothing of it, it's the job we signed up for." The bluenette said with a smile. "We're just doing our fair share."

"Thanks regardless." Ranma insisted.

"Mistress, enough with the pleasantries already. Let's go grab dinner! I'm hungry." Suramui whined.

Both Ranma and Izumi smiled in amusement at that.

"Guess I better go feed them," Ranma said with a giggle. "See you later, Izumi-san."

"Good night, Ranma-san. Go feed that pet of yours." The health assistant said, even as she turned to get started on packing the class attraction away for the night all the whilst muttering about the strange and exotic creations that the school's mad scientists cooked up and let run loose for the Festival.

Giggling at how the Festival, and the World Tree's increased magical output during that time, made people believe and accept almost _anything_ , Ranma and her familiars turned to leave the 3-A classroom, however they were barely out into the corridor outside when suddenly she was tackled by Haruna.

"Onee-sama! Have you heard anything about the Martial Arts Tournament?!" Her sister asked, sounded frantic, eyes wide and face sweating in nervousness.

"Uh, not much?" Ranma replied, confused by her sister's urgency even as she feebly tried to push her sister off her and get back on her feet. "Why what about it?"

"There was a panda in the preliminaries-"

"A p-panda?" Ranma stuttered, freezing in place and causing her familiars to tense.

"Mistress, is something wrong?" Ameko asked worriedly. "Are you afraid of pandas?"

"Let's euthanize the panda." Chachazero giggled like a serial killer as both Suramui and Pudding nodded.

Ranma and Haruna ignored them.

"Yes, Onee-sama! And he called himself Saotome Genma!"

As the name slipped out from Haruna's lips, Ranma's vision turned black around the edges and her breathing accelerated to an insane degree. Her magic sensed her distress and reacted, lashing out in a bid to protect her from whatever was hurting her.

 _He's here! HE'S here!_ Ranma's mind repeated in a sick mantra over and over again as her consciousness spiraled into welcome oblivion.

* * *

Haruna had expected for her Onee-sama to react badly when she learned the news that her abusive sperm donor was in Mahora. But she had thought that she deserved to know. But seeing her usually implacable Onee-sama have a panic attack and pass out at the mere mention of the jerk's name made her regret her decision. This was almost as bad as that time Onee-sama had gone all cat when they'd been little girls!

"We've gotta get Mistress outta here," Chachazero said as she and the Slime Sisters struggled to pick Onee-sama up. "We need to get her somewhere where her out of control magic destroying things won't hurt anyone or she'll get in serious trouble."

Their declaration pulled Haruna from her horror and she finally noticed how everything around them was starting to decay under the influence of Onee-sama's magic.

"Haruna-san, what's going on out here?" Izumi-san said as she popped out of their classroom. The other girl froze as she saw Onee-sama passed out on the floor.

"What happened!?" She demanded as she stepped forward.

"It's fine," Haruna shouted urgently as she picked Onee-sama up bridal style. "Onee-sama had a panic attack! I know it's been a while, but you know how she gets them from time to time. I'll just take her back to our room and let her calm down there. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine!"

"Wait! Let's give her some water at least." Izumi-san insisted. "That always used to help her."

"No," Haruna said, shaking her head and seeing how the decay caused by Onee-sama's runaway magic was spreading, a clear sign of how they needed to get out of there. And fast.

Izumi-san looked like she was about to say something and more of their classmates were coming out of the classroom to see what was going on, but Haruna had no time to deal with them so with Onee-sama secure in her arms, she ran in the direction of Eva-san's cottage. Onee-sama's familiars trailing behind her.

"Eva-chan can help with this," Haruna assured herself as she eyed the trail of destruction her Onee-sama's out of control powers were leaving in their wake as they ran. "She has to."

* * *

Ranma awoke with a sharp gasp, hands clenching the sheets of the bed she found herself in so tightly that she ripped them. Her face drenched in sweat, she fought to regain control of her breathing and fight off the lingering memories of the nightmare she'd had. No, not a nightmare but a series of memories revolving around the worst torments Saotome Genma had put her through.

As she finally managed to gain some semblance of control over her breathing and dispelled the lingering images of the painful memories from her mind, she looked around the room she was in. Her pounding heart slowing as she recognized that she was in Shishou's room.

And from outside the room, she barely managed to pick up the harsh voice of her Shishou speaking.

"Why don't we just kill the fucker and be done with it? I don't see why we can't solve this with murder. It worked back in my day!"

"Mama and Touchan considered it, well at least Mama and I did." Ranma heard Haruna reply. "But Touchan wouldn't stand for it. He believed in letting the justice system run its course."

"You do know you have a world class murderer right here, right? I mean, my daily walks back in the day left oceans of blood. And a few lakes of tears. That I drank!"

 _I better step in._ Ranma decided as she dragged herself out of bed and towards the sound of the conversation. _Before Shishou does something that lands her in trouble._

"I know you were infamous," Ranma said as she made herself known and came down the stairs into the living room. "But this is _my_ problem. I'd like to be the one to handle this."

"Like you've been handling it so far?" Shishou shot back.

Haruna growled at Shishou for that but Ranma just shook her head.

"Shishou, no, Eva-san, please. As my friend, please let me handle this on my own." Ranma begged. "I won't get closure unless I do."

Eva sighed in frustration. Her blue eyes like chips of ice as her nostrils flared in anger. "Fine. Go clean up your mess. I expect it done by the end of the Festival."

"Hai, Shishou!"

Their conversation was interrupted when Chachamaru-san suddenly appeared from nowhere with a tray of food.

"W-Where did you come from?" Haruna asked, as she put a hand over her chest in a bid to still what Ranma could only presume was a runaway heart.

"From the Resort," Chachamaru-san said in her usual monotone. "I've brought dinner."

At her words, suddenly Ranma's familiars materialized from nowhere as well, each clutching a tray of food. Every item of which, the redhead noted, was one of her favorites.

"Join us for dinner?" Shishou asked with a smirk. "It seems your familiars went to the trouble of preparing your favorites."

"Then how can I refuse," Ranma said with a smile. "Haruna?"

"I'm not leaving you alone tonight. So yeah."

"Good, then Chachamaru, please set the table accordingly."

"As you command Master," the gynoid said with a polite nod as she moved to do as ordered.

* * *

As she watched the sun set, Chao reviewed the events for the day from her office at the top of the tower overlooking the arena where she was hosting the Martial Arts Tournament.

"As I expected, Negi-ji is making great use of the Cassiopeia I gave him." The time traveler said with a giggle as she read the reports on all the hijinks her ancestor had got up to thanks to the time machine she'd gifted him.

Her mirth died however as she put down the reports about her homeroom teacher and her eyes fell on the pile next to it.

"I am worried for Shishou though," she said biting the nail of her thumb nervously. "I knew she had issues with the accursed people who were her biological parents but I never imagined things were so bad between them."

If she was free to do whatever she wanted… She'd have killed the panda ages ago. Sadly, temporal paradoxes were a thing and she had to make sure she didn't cause any.

"They can't stop me from having a little petty revenge though." Chao thought with a vicious smirk. "Glad I forced him to be cleaned for health reasons at least."

She burst into a malicious laugh as she recalled all the discomfort the cleaning had caused the dumb panda. And that weird minotaur thing too. Seriously what was that thing!? That was no magical creature she had recognized and she did a _lot_ of research before her jump here.

"Whatever, I can check what he is when I'm free." Chao decided. "Right now, I have more important things to figure out."

Like what _exactly_ could make her usually unflappable Shishou react so strongly and just what she could get away with doing to the panda as part of her vengeance on her beloved Shishou's behalf.

"Just you wait, Genma, when I'm through with you, you'll wish you were never born!" Chao declared, her eyes narrowed and glowing with a harsh alien light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Nameless: So we got some blowback about being dark in the last chapter. One guest review that E4E deleted even said "we should disappear" because of it. Now, none of those who took issue with the chapter actually spelled out what was the problem so we can only assume. Judging by the reaction, we think it was our mentions of underage prostitution. Sadly, whether you want to admit it or not, that's an alarmingly common thing in Japan. They couch it as compensated dating or enjo-kōsai but it is clear what it is. Don't believe us, Google it. Considering this, do you think Nabiki wouldn't resort to it to earn some cash? Do remember we're trying to write our stories as realistically as we can, obviously discounting the more fantastical elements inbuilt into the fandoms we're working in, and this is just a reflection of that.
> 
> And Mahora fes has started! With love in the air and possible madness coming around the bend, who knows what might happen. We also have another small list of debuts from the Ranma side of things with a dash of Love Hina added in and other cameos. We have the prim and proper Ninomiya! Genma making his slimey way back onto the field with a sidekick this time, a strangely buff one! Love Hina's Aoyama cutting to the scene with Ippo and Bang flashing that cameo card. Let's face it, this tourney needed some flair! Albireo can't do it all himself after all.
> 
> Nameless: Yup. We really wanted to have some fun with the martial arts tournament so we decided to fill it up with some cameos. Hope you guys like seeing them.
> 
> Ranma's freaking out, which is making her familiars ticked off and worried. Along with Chao having some relation to Ranma in some way?! How will it go? You'll have to wait and see.
> 
> Nameless: Really hope that our foreshadowing is satisfactory. We are trying our best, so if you wouldn't mind please drop a review letting us know how we did.
> 
> And to our reviewer Dasgun, what are with your reviews my friend? If you could explain what they mean that would be great because you are just giving us periods. Somewhat vexing to see on our fics. I'm kind of on the verge of just blocking you man, those reviews contribute nothing and I don't write for a review count.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	28. Mahora Festival - Day 2 Part 1 - Tournament Mayhem

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Mahora Festival - Day 2 Part 1 - Tournament Mayhem**

**Beta:**

* * *

"You mean to tell me this place existed!?" Yue demanded of her friends indignantly as she gestured at the magically shielded forest training ground she, Nodoka, Haruna and Ranma-san were standing in.

"Yeah, how else would magical students or teachers train? Some magical gym we have off site?" Haruna asked with a giggle. "And you guys never told me!? I thought I _had_ to go to Eva-san's Resort to practice." Yue said, growling in annoyance.

"No offence to your girlfriend, Ranma-san, but Eva-san is scary at times. So the less time I spend around her the better for my peace of mind."

"No, that place is just better and you can get a lot more mileage there." Nodoka informed her with a shake of her head as everyone ignored Ranma-san's obligatory denial that Eva-san was her girlfriend. It was honestly a running gag at this point. Even their more mundane classmates swore the couple were sneaking off for 'naughty time'. Middle schooler maturity at its finest.

Well, the more observant ones anyways. There were some really dense people in their class. It almost evened out against the number of geniuses and super geniuses. Honestly their class composition was highly suspicious and Yue was of the belief that the Dean had set things up this way on purpose so that said super smart people would help pull up the class' grade point average by covering for the academically weaker students. Because as good as Kū Fei-san was as a martial artist, she was absolutely useless when it came to her studies.

"Okay, setting aside your exasperation at our oversight." Ranma-san said, sounding amused more than anything. "Why did you drag us all here after breakfast anyways?"

"Technically, I didn't drag us here. I just asked for a spot where I could show off my ma-"

"Ayase-san," Ranma-san said with a glare.

Yue winced. _Looks like the redhead is getting irritated. Time to move this along._

"Right, so I wanted to show you guys my progress. And ask for your opinions on it. That okay?" Yue asked, looking from one of her friends to the other in turn with excitement.

"Sure," Haruna said with a grin. "We'll be happy to offer advice on how you can improve."

Nodoka and Ranma-san nodded too and Yue could feel her excitement start to boil over.

So it was with more exuberance than she felt in ages that she spun to the targets at the other end of the firing range they were standing in front of.

"Alright, here's what I got!" Yue said, feeling her excitement thrumming through her as she felt her magical energy build up. Pointing her practice wand -She might need an upgrade to it- she chanted softly before finishing it with a shout of, " _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ (Magic Arrows, Lightning Series)!"

At her incantation, seventeen arrows of super deadly lightning fired from the tip of her wand, utterly disintegrating five whole targets!

All three of her spectating classmates clapped at the display but Yue wasn't done yet. She had been working really hard looking up this spell with her artifact, the book _Orbis Sensualium Pictus_ (The Visible World or The World Around Us in Pictures) that linked to the magical equivalent of the internet and allowed her access to practically every bit of magical knowledge uploaded to it, and mastering it. It was just too fantastic not to show off now that she had finally got a handle on it. Even if it took several days at Evangeline-san's resort to pull off.

" _Genus Fulminis Draconem_ (Descent of the Lightning Dragon)!" From the tip of her wand, a dragon shaped lightning bolt shot out. It arced between the range's remaining targets, bolts peeling off to strike and mar the nearby foliage as it reduced them all to dust

"Heh." Yue smirked, feeling pretty good about herself, even if she was slightly winded.

"Have you thought up an activation key? It helps channel magic better." Ranma-san suggested with a thoughtful look.

"Activation key?" Yue asked with pursed lips. She hadn't heard anything about that.

"It's a western mage thing. Think of it like a password for your magic. It can be total nonsense like Burger, Pudding, Salsa!" Nodoka explained with an amused grin. "It's mostly just a mnemonic that's used to help mages put themselves in the right frame of mind to use their magic."

"This is ridiculous," Haruna said suddenly, radiating bitterness whilst pointing at one of the destroyed targets. "How can you not know about Activation Keys and yet manage to cast spells which can do _that_!?"

"Yue-san just has a talent for magic it seems. I don't use an Activation Key." Ranma-san informed her sister.

"Yeah, but you use your crossbow as a medium and don't even use full chants!" Haruna argued with an upset look upon her face. "That _and_ you're a genius with magic! Onee-sama, you can't compare yourself to Yue! She's lazy! How the hell did someone like that manage to get better than me by leaps and bounds in a few days when even after years I can barely manage to just light a wand!?"

Yue was taken aback. At first when Haruna started her little rant she'd been mildly offended by being called lazy. Yes, she totally was. But being called out on it was still hurtful, especially by one of her best friends. But as it continued and the reason for the greenette's frustration became clear and tears began to flow down her face, all she could feel was sympathy for her best friend.

"Haruna-" Nodoka began but was cut off when Ranma-san slapped her sister.

"Haruna," Ranma-san said sternly. "Snap out of it. This is the second time you've let this happen. It's not Ayase-san's fault that she has more talent for direct spellcasting than you. Just like it wasnt Nodoka-san's."

"...Sorry." Haruna looked closed in, like something pitiful. Had Haruna always been this bitter about her magical prowess? With a genius like Ranma-san as a sister, that kind of comparison growing up would probably be unsettling.

"Actually, Haruna never compared herself to Ranma-san." Nodoka leaned over to whisper into Yue's ear. "She's always seen her Onee-sama as exceptional and beyond comparison with herself. Considering how much of an absolute _genius_ Ranma-san is with magic, I can see why."

"Are you using your book on me?"

"No. I think I'm getting better at reading people outside my book." Nodoka said with a shrug. "You were looking between Haruna and Ranma-san with a contemplative look just as she was talking about comparing herself to the two of us. It wasn't a hard conclusion to draw."

And now Nodoka was even more of a minder reader! Just how scary were her classmates getting!?

"Yue," Haruna said, grabbing her hands and pulling the shorter of the purple haired girls out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry. It's just-"

"No need to explain Haruna, I get it." Yue said understandingly. "And I forgive you. So, um, since you've studied magic for years longer than me, any suggestions on how I can improve?"

Haruna looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding eagerly.

"I know! Get a custom focus."

"Like Ranma-san's crossbow?" Nodoka asked, intrigued.

"You two probably won't need something quite so custom." Ranma-san said with a shake of her head. "A wand that's tailored to your magic is probably enough. It'll be a major step up from the practice and basic wands you're using now."

"And I know a shop in the Magical Market that sells custom wands!" Haruna declared happily.

"You do?" Ranma-san blinking curiously.

"Yup," Haruna said with an excited nod. "I found it one day when I was exploring the Market while you were spazzing out over a shipment of new grimoires. It's the coolest place. Yue, Nodoka, you two will love it!"

"Let's go there now," Nodoka said, bouncing on her feet eagerly and Yue nodded.

Ranma-san checked her phone for the time and frowned.

"You three will have to go without me." She said with a shake of her head. "I have a shift at the haunted house in an hour. It'll take longer than that for you two to get fitted for your wands."

"That's a shame Onee-sama," Haruna said with a pout.

"Yeah," Ranma-san agreed. "But I trust that you'll guide Yue-san and Nodoka-san through the process right, Haruna? And make sure the shopkeep doesn't try to cheat them?"

"Leave it to me, Onee-sama." Haruna replied whilst snapping a salute.

Ranma-san rolled her eyes at her sister's antics but nodded.

"Then enjoy your trip to the Market, guys." Ranma-san said with a wave. "I'll go get ready for my shift."

Yue and her best friends joined in wishing the redhead goodbye as she walked off. Once she had though, they exchanged enthusiastic looks.

"This way!" Haruna declared with her usual hyperactive eagerness.

As she and Nodoka followed, Yue didn't mind. They were off to an adventure together just like they often did when exploring Library Island. The familiarity was great and just added to the excitement. It certainly more than made up for the little blow up they had earlier.

* * *

Whilst the Library Trio were having their heart to heart, Ukyo was facing off against her opponent in Round One of the Martial Arts Tournament.

"It is an honor to be able to cross swords with you, Aoyama-san." Ukyo told the Shinmei-ryū practitioner honestly as they leveled their bokken at each other and circled around the ring warily.

"Likewise." Aoyama-san replied, sounding just as genuine. "Though, I had never expected to do so, sword to kunai or combat spatula as your family prefers perhaps but not swords. At least I did not expect it based on our previous meetings."

"I can imagine," Ukyo agreed with a grin. The last time that they'd met before the Festival was during one or other of the various events held by the Japanese Martial Arts community, when she'd been little more than a humble ninja in training.

"Can you, really?" Aoyama-san said with a chuckle. "I had heard some rumors but to actually see you wield Himura-sama's lost _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ was quite the shock."

"I'm surprised you managed to identify it," Ukyo admitted as she tossed a _Flour Bomb_ into the space between herself and her opponent. "Seeing as how it was lost and all."

"Lost but not forgotten," Aoyama-san countered just as easily as she ignored the smokescreen the exploding cloud of flour had created to launch a circle of ki that cut across the arena in what Ukyo recognized from spars with Sakurazaki-san as being the _Zankūsen_ (斬空閃, Air-Cutting Flash) technique. "Whilst the specifics of the school's techniques were lost after Himura-sama's passing, elements of it were incorporated into surviving schools. Enough that I was able to recognize it."

"Is that so? Guess I underestimated just how famous my style is," Ukyo commented absently as she used the cover of her smokescreen to evade her opponent's attack and launched one of her own. Slamming her bokken into the ground hard, she unleashed the _Doryūsen_ (土龍閃, Earth Dragon Flash) and sent a barrage of earthen chunks flying towards her fellow swordswoman.

"Using a smokescreen to cover your evasion and attack? That's a little underhanded." Aoyama-san said as she swung her bokken in a blur of speed with _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) to deflect every one of the projectiles flying towards her.

"Hey," Ukyo said with a shrug as she used a burst of _Shinsoku_ to avoid the spiral of ki that Aoyama-san's _Zantetsusen_ (斬鉄閃, Iron-Cutting Flash) sent her way. "Just because I favour the sword now doesn't mean that I have forgotten my ninja roots and our philosophy has always been that nothing is too underhanded if it delivers victory."

A point she punctuated by setting off a _Tempura Flash_ and creating a cloud of small explosions in the hope of blinding and stunning her opponent.

Those hopes were dashed when in a burst of _Shinsoku_ Aoyama-san shot past the cloud and directly into close combat with Ukyo. The student of _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ had expected the possibility of this however and whilst somewhat surprised, was able to put her guard up in time.

For a brief moment the two swordswoman pushed their mock blades against each other, testing their strength. It was a battle that Ukyo knew she would lose. As an adult Aoyama-san had more experience with a sword, not helped by the fact that she'd trained with it her whole life whilst Ukyo herself only picked it up recently, and had more ki to enhance her abilities. So taking the better part of valour, using _Shinsoku_ Ukyo disengaged first. Her opponent was persistent though and actively pursued her using _Shinsoku_ as well. A pattern they repeated time and time again as they danced across the length and breadth of the ring.

The commentator was waxing lyrical about swordsmanship straight out of an anime or manga and the audience was roaring their approval but Ukyo just raised an eyebrow. This was nothing. The rapid clash of their bokken was happening too quickly for either of them to pull off any techniques at all. It was a contest of pure skill with the handling of their swords.

_A contest that I_ will _lose._ Ukyo recognized. Aoyama-san's advantages were just too great. That said, Ukyo had advantages of her own. She just needed the opening to make use of them.

"Your swordplay is impressive," Aoyama-san commented as they locked blades once more. "Immature but impressive nonetheless. You are, at least in my humble opinion, a worthy successor to continue the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ 's transition from a man slaying style into a more peaceful one."

"I thank you for the compliment," Ukyo said as she blurred away even as she used the slight distraction of her opponent stopping to speak to throw some _Adhesive Batter_ at the older girl's feet.

The rubber cement wouldn't hold someone of Aoyama-san's caliber for long, but a moment was all Ukyo needed. Even as the other swordswoman was busy using her ki infused bokken to smash her way free, the ninja pulled off the latest technique she'd learned. Pulling the bamboo sword into a position akin to how her katana would've been whilst it was sheathed, she 'drew' it out at a superhuman speed.

" _Yūreiryūsen_ (幽霊龍閃/Ghost Dragon Flash)!" She cried as a half dozen spectral blades made of her ki shot from her bokken alongside her draw and flew towards the still trapped Aoyama-san.

The Shinmei-ryū practitioner's eyes widened marginally in surprise and tried to bring her bokken up in a hasty guard but was a fraction of a second too slow. The ki blades hit her hard enough to blast her out of the remaining _Adhesive Batter_ and flying out of the ring.

" _And with that epic display of swordsmanship or should it be swordswomanship? The winner of the match by ring out is our hometown ninja swordswoman, Kuonji Ukyo-san!"_ The tournament commentator announced to the roaring cheers of the audience.

Ukyo offered them a bow before walking over to the edge where Aoyama-san had fallen off the raised platform that served as the ring. Looking down, she found the older girl literally standing on the water of the moat courtesy of some ki manipulation.

"That was not a technique of the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ that I am familiar with," Aoyama-san said as she walked back onto the platform, literally walking up the side of the sheer edge of the platform in the process.

"It's something Hiko Seijūrō XIII-sensei developed during his time as a lingering ghost." Ukyo admitted with a shrug as they walked back to the contestant rest area together, ignoring the commentator and the audience applauding their sportsmanship.

Aoyama-san hummed in understanding. "I take it then that you learned the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_ from the ghost of Hiko Seijūrō XIII-sama?"

Ukyo just nodded.

"You are lucky indeed to have met the spirit of the last master of the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū_." Motoko said with a rueful shake of her head. "To think that's how you learned it. I, and I suspect most others, simply believed that you had rediscovered the style from some texts you located in Mahora's Library Island or some other repository here that were possibly penned by Himura-sama before his passing."

"Nope," Ukyo said with a chuckle. "I learned it from the source."

Aoyama-san shared in the humor with an amused grin of her own.

The mood was ruined however as Ukyo spotted the panda that was Saotome Genma. The mere sight of him filled her with such worry and anger that any humor she felt died a swift death.

"You have issues with Saotome-san?" Aoyama-san asked, noting Ukyo's reaction.

"On my best friend's behalf but yes." Ukyo admitted. "Sorry Aoyama-san, but-"

"I understand," the older swordswoman said with a wave of her hand. "Go watch him. It will ease your mind."

"Thank you, Aoyama-san." Ukyo said with a thankful bow that was returned before turning to shadow the accursed panda.

She would watch him like a hawk. There was no way she was letting him go anywhere near Ranchan. He'd hurt her best friend more than enough already. Ukyo would do everything in her power to make sure he was never in a position to cause the petite redhead any more harm.

* * *

Round 2 of the Tournament was about to begin after an intermission to allow some quick repairs to the ring and Ukyo was taking the time to review the other Round 1 matches.

The match immediately after her own had been a boring one wherein a pair of no name contestants, or at least people that Ukyo hadn't even heard of, had ended in a double knockout. Or at least that's what she'd gathered from checking in with Kagurazaka-san after the fact. She'd been so distracted by glaring at Saotome Genma the whole time she'd tuned out the match entirely.

Thankfully, she'd calmed down enough by the third match to at least be aware enough of its course to know that it pretty much fit the bill of the orangette's description of its predecessor save for its outcome. As this one had at least produced a winner that would be advancing into the next round.

The next four matches saw victories by Bang-sensei, Inugami-kun, Nagase-san and Eva-sama which was no surprise. Except for the witch Mei Sakura-san who Inugami-kun fought, none of their opponents were really all that impressive and even she wasn't on their level. If anything, the big takeaway from this set of bouts was that Eva-sama was scarily skilled with those wires she was using. Ukyo was honestly a little leery of facing that in a match. She only hoped the old vampire used them for fighting and not… other things.

_Ranchan would tell me if her girlfriend ties her up for kinky games, right?_ Ukyo thought worriedly before shaking her head to dismiss the errant thought and returning to the matter at hand. After all, she could just ask Ranchan about it later.

The next winner, the high school mage Takane D. Goodman, was pretty impressive too. She had put on quite the show taking down the android that the mad scientists from the Mahora University Engineering Club had sent to join the competition. That chimeric monster, Pantyhose Taro, put on a good performance too by defeating his opponent in an intimidating display of brute strength.

_Gotta be careful about that strength if I get drawn to face him._

The next match had been between Kū Fei-san and Tatsumiya-san and whilst it was suitably epic considering the two participants, it had ended on a disappointing note. While Kū Fei-san had won the match, she had promptly proceeded to drop out of the rest of the Tournament due to her injuries. Especially after her intense match against Tatsumiya-san, Ukyo had wanted to fight her.

_Guess I'll have to settle with fighting Nagase-san instead._

Sakurazaki-san, she was sure, could commiserate with her disappointment at the moment since her victory over Kagurazaka-san was entirely due to the orangette getting disqualified for accidentally transforming her artifact from its harisen form into a buster sword. Sure, a victory was a victory, but it was only normal to prefer to have a well earned one wherever possible.

Which is why Negi-sensei's defeat of Takamichi-sensei left her with mixed feelings. She was impressed by Negi-sensei's showing, but still thought that Takamichi-sensei threw the match and that just made her think the victory was a little hollow.

In contrast to her confusion over Negi-sensei's match, her thoughts on the mysterious Ku:Nel Sanders's match were clear. Confusion. He had defeated his opponent so quickly and under that obscuring fog that he'd summoned that it was impossible to discern anything about him. At all! The fact that Eva-sama had identified him as actually being Albireo Imma, one of Negi-sensei's father's old friends just added to the mystery. Since, of course, the vampire refused to elaborate on what that meant.

Despite all of her focus on the other matches though, the majority of her attention never wavered from observing Saotome Genma. It was thus his match that she watched most closely. And he lived up to his reputation as a terrible person perfectly. The panda had of course defeated his opponent, one of the local Mahora martial artists. He must've known that he greatly outclassed his opponent but instead of going easy on him because of that, he had chosen to not show any respect for this opponent's efforts and proceed to just utterly demolish him.

_How dishonorable._ Ukyo thought as she shot yet another glare the panda's way.

If he noticed her hostility, he made no sign of it and Ukyo herself was pulled away from attempting to murder him with the power of her hatred alone by the voice of the Tournament's announcer speaking over the stadium's PA system.

" _Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen!"_ The man said enthusiastically. " _The repairs to the ring have just been completed and cleared by the safety team, so it's time to start Round 2!"_

This was met with raucous cheers from the crowds _._

" _And now let's find out which two contestants will face off in the first match of Round 2 shall we?"_ The announcer said as the screens scattered throughout the stadium suddenly cut away to a graphic where the faces and names of the remaining Tournament participants rapidly scrolled across the screen.

It took a minute, but finally the selection was complete and the announcer called upon the lucky two slated to go first to come forward. " _Would Inugami-san and Sanders-san please come forward?"_

Ukyo turned to watch the match with some interest, hopeful to see some clue of what Albireo-san was capable of. Sadly, as soon as the start of the match was announced, the two opponents were surrounded by a thick, obscuring bank of mist. And within mere minutes, Inugami-kun was sent flying out of the mist to float face up in the moat, unconscious.

" _And by a virtue of a knock out_ and _ring out, Sanders-san advances to Round 3!"_ The announcer declared, officially calling the match.

_Holy hell! Inugami-kun is no pushover, how the hell did Albireo-san defeat him so easily!?_ Ukyo thought to herself, both wary of and curious about her mysterious fellow competitor.

In the meantime, the Tournament organisers finished fishing Inugami-kun out of the moat and delivered him to the medics for a checkup and Albireo-san returned to the contestant rest area. Whilst in the background, the Tournament's screens rapidly ran through the remaining contestants and locked on to the match-up for the next match.

" _And our next round is between Kū Fei-san and Nagase-san! But as Kū Fei-san has forfeited after her last match… Unless she's changed her mind…"_ The announcer said leadingly.

"I forfeit," Kū Fei-san reaffirmed loudly from the spot she'd taken in the audience.

" _Then her Round 2 opponent, Nagase-san, proceeds to the next Round by default. Let's give her a round of applause!"_

At the announcer's prompting, the audience gave a Nagase-san a round of polite applause. The ninja had the grace to bow to the crowd gratefully, but by the tense way she held her shoulders, it was obvious she didn't appreciate the free ride at all.

" _Or we would be if we were a bunch of losers!"_ The announcer shouted, drawing confusion from the crowd only for the Kū Fei-san's slot on the screen to suddenly start flashing between the other contestants and landing on a picture of Sakurazaki-san. " _Instead, we'll just have her fight another contestant! Will Nagase-san and Sakurazaki-san please enter the ring for your match?"_

That was certainly a surprise move. A welcome one certainly if the enthusiastic applause from the crowd was anything to go by. Even Nagase-san and Sakurazaki-san seemed pleased with this development as they both grinned and walked over to the ring.

_Ninja versus swordswoman, huh?_ Ukyo reflected with a thoughtful look as the two circled each other, measuring each other's abilities. _Gotta pay attention. I can learn from both of them._

It was an enlightening match indeed. Sakurazaki-san's swordplay was sublime as always but what was really educational was how she reacted to Nagase-san's ninja techniques. She relied on bursts of _Shinsoku_ to keep up with the many sneak attacks that the taller girl carried out with her truly excellent ninja arts. She was so skilled that Ukyo had no choice but to admit that her own skills paled in comparison. Feints within feints, wire traps, smokescreens. Nagase-san was a ruthless one and clearly showed it.

She was relentless too, staying on the offensive the whole time and never allowing Sakurazaki-san to gain the initiative. Every time that the swordswoman tried, she would use one trick or the other, usually involving _Kage Bunshin_ (影分身, Shadow Clone), to evade and launch a counterattack of her own.

Maybe that near default win really pushed the tall kunoichi to strut her stuff?

Either way, her tactic worked and soon Sakurazaki-san had tired herself out. It was as she was visibly panting in exhaustion that Nagase-san went in for the win.

Conjuring three shadow clones she rushed the Shinmei-ryū practitioner. Said swordswoman tried to fend them off with a _Raimeiken_ (雷鳴剣, Thunderclap Sword) that sent a bolt of lightning at the ninja but the slash that launched the technique was slower than usual and so telegraphed the direction of the attack enough for Nagase-san and her clones to easily evade the attack. Thus she successfully got within the swordswoman's guard and two of them kicked her hard, sending her flying up into the sky where a third Nagase-san used her instant movement technique, _Shukuchi_ (縮地, Ground Contraction), to appear behind her and kicked her in the back sending her slamming back into the ring where the landing created a crater.

Amazingly, Sakurazaki-san was still conscious after all that and tried to struggle to her feet. However, Nagase-san wasn't about to give her the opportunity and alongside her clones blurred over to be atop the prone swordswoman and with bamboo kunai in hand pinned the hanyou to the ground.

"Forfeit," the kunoichi demanded.

Sakurazaki-san hesitated but Nagase-san pressed the kunai she held to the shorter girl's neck hard against her skin.

"I forfeit," the swordswoman conceded at last even as she gave a disappointed sigh.

" _And that's it folks! After another epic fight, we have the winner! By forfeit, Nagase-san proceeds to Round 3!"_ The announcer declared, causing the already roaring crowd to break out into even more raucous festivities. " _Let's give both Sakurazaki-san and Nagase-san a round of applause!"_

Helping the shorter girl up and dismissing her clones in puffs of smoke, Nagase-san shook Sakurazaki-san's hand. An action that elicited great cheers from the audience once more.

" _Thank you Sakurazaki-san and Nagase-san,"_ the announcer said as the audience finally began to calm down. " _Now let's find out who's going to be the two lucky competitors that'll be facing off in the next match."_

Ukyo ignored the selection process. If she was picked, she would hear it as the announcer declared it to everyone. Instead, she turned to the returning participants of the recently concluded match.

"Good win, Nagase-san." Ukyo offered to her fellow kunoichi as she and Sakurazaki-san returned to the contestant rest area. "A very inspiring use of the _Kage Bunshin_."

"Thank you, degozaru." The taller girl nodded with a small smile. "I hope we can fight later on. As long as you aren't unlucky with who you face."

Ukyo nodded to this, certainly hoping for the same.

" _Would Springfield-san and Goodman-san please come into the ring for their match?"_ The announcer said, summoning the participants of the latest match.

"Two traditional mages?" Sakurazaki-san hummed thoughtfully as the three of them turned to look at the ring and the two combatants got ready. "This will be interesting."

"Is Negi-sensei even considered a traditional mage anymore? I mean, he's training with Kū Fei-san nowadays."

"Do we know what the high schooler can do?" Kaede-san asked curiously, sounding unsurprised by the casual measure of magic.

_Then again as a ninja of the Nagase clan, it's no surprise she knows of its existence._

"From what I know, she is a prodigy with shadow magic and makes hordes of minions out of them." Sakurazaki-san informed them.

"Uh… Is that supposed to be armor?" Ukyo-san asked, as she eyed the high schooler's racy dress in disbelief. The swordswoman knew magic could do a lot, but wearing a dress, especially one that looked something more befitting a ballroom than a battlefield, and calling it armor was almost as bad as a chainmail bikini!

"Ah, magic?" The hanyou weakly offered.

"Bullshit." Ukyo frowned, it was like the blonde was trying to flaunt her development or something!

"At least Negi-sensei is trouncing her," Nagase-san said with a grin as he wiped the floor with the shadow user. There was no other way to describe it. Goodman-san was sending literal waves of her shadow constructs at him but the 3-A homeroom teacher was effortlessly blasting them away with a variety of spells and martial arts techniques whilst steadily advancing on his increasingly panicked looking opponent. "Looks like her attempt to use her boobs to distract Negi-sensei isn't working."

"You think that's what she's trying to do?" Ukyo asked curiously. It was disturbing to even attempt such a tactic against someone as young as Negi-sensei but she couldn't rule it out as being viable. Especially if what Ranchan told her about the child teacher's relationship with Hasegawa-san was correct.

"Probably not," Nagase-san said with a shake of her head. "At least not him specifically. It's probably something she tries as standard against opponents who appreciate her body type."

Sakurazaki-san nodded.

"Body type huh?" Ukyo said with a smirk as she compared Goodman-san to Negi-sensei's likely crush. "I guess she's not Negi-sensei's type. Too busty."

"What!? Negi-sensei has a type?" Sakurazaki-san said, turning to Ukyo with alarm.

Ukyo shrugged and refused to expand on her statement.

The hanyou looked ready to pump her for details but thankfully Nagase-san nodding towards the match distracted her.

"Negi-sensei has got her."

Ukyo wasn't entirely sure about that. He _was_ however within striking distance of the blonde. Which was exactly when he suddenly sneezed and somehow blew the shadow dress away and the rest of her clothes too. Including her underwear.

Screaming in dismay at being stripped in public, Goodman-san folded into a fetal position as she desperately covered herself. It seems she hadn't undergone any training to fight in the nude. Negi-sensei however had, thank you Eva-sama and yes that was sarcasm, and didn't even flinch at seeing a naked woman. Instead, he rolled with the unexpected situation and kicked his distracted, embarrassed opponent, sending her flying out of the ring.

" _And by ring out, Springfield-san moves to the next Round!"_ The announcer said with a little less enthusiasm than usual. " _Could someone get Goodman-san a fresh set of clothes?"_

Even as he spoke, the screens were already busy selecting the next two contestants and a team rushed to help Goodman-san out of the moat, fresh clothes in hand. Not that it was needed as the shadow mage had already conjured a new set of shadow armor to protect her modesty. Negi-sensei went over to her too and offered his apologies but in a display of remarkable sportsmanship, she seemed to wave the apology away.

"Ah, poor Mitsui-san." Nagase-san said suddenly. "He got matched up with Bang-sensei."

"Mitsui-san?" Ukyo blinked in confusion.

"He's a local martial artist." Sakurazaki-san explained.

Ukyo nodded and turned to the match. It was rather lacklustre to be honest. Considering the difference in their levels of skill, the elder had turned it more into a lesson for the younger martial artist than an actual match showcasing just how much of a great honorable master he was. Even then though, it was only a matter of a few minutes before he had ringed his opponent out.

And then the next round came around, and the announcement of the match up made Ukyo want to curl up and die.

" _Will McDowell-san and Kounji-san please report to the arena!_ " The announcer informed the expectant audience as a cheer rang out from the crowd.

"Kill me." Ukyo pleaded to Sakurazaki-san.

"...I'm afraid I cannot be your second for this, Kounji-san." The hanyou sadly informed her.

Sighing in dismay, Ukyo accepted the inevitable and walked into the arena.

"Could you please don't make this too humiliating, Eva-sama?" Ukyo begged the ancient vampire as the blonde stalked onto the raised platform that was the arena like the predator that she was.

"Oh? But that sounds so boring!" The blonde lolita said with an utterly over dramatic hair flip. Did she take lessons to do that? It felt like she did. "Why! This could be ever so fun, like we're BFFs or something."

"Did you not get your dose of Ranchan today yet? 'Cos you're being a lot more evil than normal."

The blonde stared at her, silence filling the arena as she flashed her fangs with a dark smile.

"I'm sorry? Did you ask for a beating? It sounded like you said, 'Please oh beautiful and powerful Evangeline! Please make me cry and squeal like a piggy!' Well, if you insist."

_Yep, she didn't get her Ranchan time._ Ukyo mentally whimpered as she waited for the announcer to start the match.

" _Match start!"_ The announcer shouted and Ukyo moved to launch into an attack, but before she could even finish drawing her bokken Eva-sama's wires had already wrapped around the wooden blade.

"Oh? What's this?" The vampire said with a chuckle as she pulled the bokken right out of Ukyo's hands and into her own and with a twitch of her fingers, the bokken was snapped cleanly in half.

"Aw, did you need that?" Eva-sama cooed like a predator around some delicious fresh meat.

Ukyo backed up, the brunette feeling hunted.

So she did the best thing her arsenal could allow.

"I can help you get laid!" She exclaimed, silence reigning over the entire arena, crowd included.

Eva-sama looked as if she'd been slapped across the face. Her pale cheeks glowing bright red as she scowled at her. "A-As if I would need help from a child! Wh-Why would I need your help, stupid?!"

"Well, I, uh, know my bestie the best, so clearly I know how to hit all her hot buttons. Can you really afford to not take this chance? Huh?" The swordswoman asked with a sly smile.

Thankfully, even the announcer was too speechless to comment on this whole embarrassing mess.

_Sorry, Ranchan! Know that as a warrior, some things must be sacrificed for victory. Or survival in this case!_ Ukyo thought, making a silent prayer to her bestie.

The look on Eva-sama's face showed she was honestly thinking about this. W-Was this a chance?!

Exploiting the small opening that she'd created, Ukyo threw a brace of her _Spatula Shurikens_ , enhanced by her ki of course, at the vampire. She had underestimated Eva-sama however and with just a distracted wiggle of her left hand, dozens of wires whipped through the air and knocked the throwing weapons right out of the air.

"Good distraction," Eva-sama said as she suddenly appeared directly in front of Ukyo. "But not good enough."

With that and a smirk, she caught the swordswoman in a perfect aikido throw that had her sailing out of the ring to splash into the moat around the ring.

"Would a kink list have helped?" Ukyo asked as she spat out water, at least giving one last stab at her opponent. Call her petty, but it was still humiliating to be so effortlessly defeated.

"I still expect that advice later, Kounji!" Eva-sama shouted at the waterlogged swordswoman as in the background the announcer confirmed her victory and the vampire sauntered back to the contestant rest area.

"You'll get it," Ukyo shouted back as she pulled herself out of the water and used some ki to dry herself off even as she made her own way to the rest area.

Of course she was going to put in every one of Ranchan's more embarrassing fetishes into that list. That'll show that dusty old vampire! Her best friend had the weirdest likes! It nearly matched Haruna-san's browser history for being disturbing!

_Let's see how she likes finding out that Ranchan has full blown sexual fetishism over books._ Ukyo thought with a smirk. _The things she does to her grimoires will make even that vampire blush!_

Her thoughts for revenge were put aside though as the last match of the Tournament's second round was announced.

" _And for the final match for this round, let's welcome Pantyhose-san and Saotome-san into the ring!"_

Immediately, Ukyo's attention was on the arena. Her whole focus centred on trying to decipher what she could about Saotome Genma's abilities. Any little thing could help her in taking him down if the need arose. She wasn't alone, she noticed. Much of the gathered members of 3-A were doing the same. Especially Eva-sama whose hands were clenched so tight that they had turned white from the strain and a trickle of blood dripped from her closed fists.

The fight started off mundane enough, with the chimera using the brute strength of his form to attack the panda. In a display of remarkable agility however, the panda easily evaded the powerful blows. Despite a distinct lack of grace, it even managed to avoid the liberal amount of shrapnel the minotaur threw up as his attacks ripped up the concrete of the ring.

It did not however limit itself to being on the defensive and mixed into its evasions a series of counterattacks of its own. Delivering a series of powerful blows to the lumbering behemoth that was the winged brute which to Ukyo's trained eyes would have crippled a normal man, but which the monster shrugged off as if he didn't even feel them. _This_ seemed to finally get a reaction out of the panda and with a frown that looked very odd on its ursine face, it leapt back.

Despite its irritation, it was undeterred however and simply changed tack. Moving his hands at a speed comparable to her _Shinsoku_ and in a motion that seemed to simulate the action of flinging shutters open, the panda sent a barrage of vacuum blades at its opponent. These finally managed to hurt the minotaur, covering it in a host of deep cuts from which blood readily flowed. But even this only made the monster wince and it took to the air in a combination of the use of its tiny wings and ki manipulation and barreled towards Saotome Genma in a high speed charge.

In response the panda just launched another brace of vacuum blades at the same time as he drew a furoshiki (a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) from somewhere and tossed it over himself. He vanished, alongside a large chunk of the ground upon which he had previously been standing on. Moments later he appeared above the still charging Pantyhose-san and leapt down at him, unfolding the furoshiki and dropping the sizable chunk of rock he'd apparently sucked into it when he'd disappeared. At the same time, this created a rush of air that caused the vacuums he'd created earlier to rapidly collapse thus creating a reverse vacuum that sucked in all nearby loose earth, including the chunk of earth he'd brought with him, to form a massive mound of earth that buried the flying minotaur.

"That's honestly pretty impressive," Bang-sensei commented with narrowed eyes. "A little too uncontrolled and prone to unnecessary injury but still a very technically impressive technique."

Ukyo just nodded with a frown as the panda ripped the mound of earth apart by spreading his arms apart in an opening motion while simultaneously kicking it with one foot. It crumbled apart to reveal an unconscious Pantyhose-san.

" _And thanks to a truly epic knockout, Saotome-san proceeds to Round 3!"_ The announcer declared to the mindlessly cheering crowd.

" _You are an unfortunate boy. I normally would not be so free in my use of the_ Umisenken _and the_ Yamasenken," the panda said via the use of a series of signs. " _But to defeat my target I have been forced to unseal these evil and violent skills."_

_No need to guess who this jerk-off means by target._ Ukyo scowled as she watched the panda turn away from his defeated opponent to eat up the crowd's cheers at his victory and snack shamelessly on some of the goodies they threw to him. No doubt he was targeting Ranchan, but why was he at the tournament?

It wasn't like Ranchan would be at it. Or was he trying to gloat that he was here to Ukyo's friend? Ranchan did mention he was a perpetually broke loser, so maybe he was here for the money?

_It doesn't matter._ Ukyo shook her head, eyes glaring daggers at the furball. _I'm not going to let him get near her!_

* * *

Her determination was tested when she lost track of the panda during the intermission that followed the end of the second round, but Ukyo was sure he'd show himself when it was time for his match. So she stayed to watch. Considering the chaos of the Festival it was a safer bet then trying to hunt him down. Besides it gave her a chance to watch some awesome fights and maybe learn a thing or two.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to make this quick." Eva-sama said with an eerie calm that contrasted greatly with her usually haughty mood as she stepped into the ring for her match with Nagase-san. "There's someone in this Tournament I want to beat into a bloody pulp. And I'll tear down anyone who gets in my way. Understand?"

"And this person would be?" The ninja asked wearily, body tense even before the fight began.

"Someone who hurt someone very dear to me."

Nagase-san went for broke at the start, using a smokescreen to surround Eva-san and converge on her with shadow clones. But Eva-sama was having none of that.

She twitched her fingers and puppet strings lashed out, taking out all the clones and wrapped around Nagase-san's limbs. Eva-sama had a frightfully cold look on her face, her scalera black as she tossed the ninja out of the arena practically effortlessly.

And thus the match ended and was met with rather subdued cheers from the crowd at the underwhelming performance.

" _The next match should be plenty more exciting,"_ the announcer cajoled, trying to raise the audience's enthusiasm once more. " _For we have none other than Mahora's own child teacher and martial arts prodigy, Springfield-san, facing off against the legend of the martial arts world, Masahide-sama!"_

This worked and the crowd roared in approval and anticipation as the two aforementioned combatants made their way into the ring.

In an act of increasingly common aggression, Negi-sensei had barely finished bowing to his opponent before he had used _Shundō_ (Instant Movement) to close the distance and launch into an intense combo of punches and kicks. Ukyo was equal parts surprised and impressed by the fact that Negi-sensei was incorporating moves from multiple styles, she spotted elements of Shaolin kung fu, Wing Chun, Bagua Zhang and even a hint of Karate, woven together relatively seamlessly. It was however not enough to so much as make Bang-sensei even break a sweat.

"Good, good. Very good." He critiqued airily whilst seemingly effortlessly dancing around Negi-sensei's determined attack. "Mixing all those styles makes you unpredictable. Add that to your speed and you have the beginnings of a deadly combination."

"Thank you," Negi-sensei replied earnestly even as his body glowed for a moment as he activated his staple enhancement magic, _Cantus Bellax_ (Song of Battle), and pressed the attack.

"Ohoho!? You have some way to enhance yourself even further?" Bang-sensei asked, sounding genuinely curious even as he continued effortlessly evading Negi-sensei. "That wasn't ki though. I wonder what that is."

The way the renowned martial artist winked as he said that spoke volumes about just what he thought it was. Which in hindsight wasn't a surprise. Someone with Bang-sensie's reputation would surely have had run-ins with magic once or twice in his long career. If Ukyo herself hadn't been able to avoid it, she doubted the master could either.

"You know about- Ahem! _That_?" Negi-sensei asked, correcting himself and thus saving himself from a stint as an ermine at the last minute.

Bang-sensei just smiled knowingly and launched a counterattack. His hands trailing fluorescent blue streams of ki that resembled streams he delivered a series of blows to Negi-sensei that sent the boy flying back.

"Take this to heart, young one, never let yourself be so distracted during a fight that you create an opening your opponent can exploit." The martial arts master advised even as he caught up to the still airborne boy mage through an impressive leap and treated him to yet another series of rapid fire jabs.

The blows sent the boy hurtling to the ground where the impact created a minor crater and threw up a small dust cloud. Ukyo expected Bang-sensei to continue his attack but instead with an acrobatic spin, he redirected his momentum and landed some distance away from Negi-sensei with his guard up. This caution proved warranted as the Welshman shot out of the obscuring dust cloud like a bullet, his fists and legs pumping in yet another furious combo.

"Aggression is good." Bang-sensei complimented, his guard unyielding. "But aggression alone will not be enough. Not against every opponent and definitely not against me."

With this declaration his body _moved_. It was hard to truly put how Bang-sensei moved into words. One moment he was moving like a normal martial artist and the next, his whole form seemed to blur and move with the grace and speed of a stream as he flowed around Negi-sensei's attacks and around him. From this position behind him, Bang-sensei thrust his arms out at the mage's back. For an instant, as Bang-sensei's open palms made contact, his visage was replaced by a roaring torrent of a river in full flood. It was thus no surprise to Ukyo that Negi-sensei was once more sent flying as if he had indeed been hit by just such a powerful force of nature.

To the young boy's credit even though his back arched painfully from the blow and he let out a tortured gasp, he recovered quickly and activating what Ukyo recognized as the _Volant_ (fly) spell he managed to halt his flight over the ring at the last second. Heck, he was even able to keep his head enough to be mindful of the need to continue keeping some semblance of secrecy about the existence of magic and so landed as quickly as he could.

Bang-sensei nodded in approval at the display and he wasn't the only one. Ukyo herself had too and so had quite a few of the Tournament's participants, eliminated or otherwise.

That did not stop him from being on guard enough to evade Negi-sensei's renewed flurry of punches and kicks though. This time though something was different, Ukyo could tell as much. Negi-sensei was as relentless as his last two assaults but his attacks this time were just a little more sloppy.

"What are you planning little-" Bang-sensei asked, even as his opponent sprung his trap.

From out of nowhere, whilst everyone was still puzzling over what Negi-sensei was up to, dozens of _Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae (Magic Arrows, Capturing Wind)_ materialized around the boy mage and Bang-sensei. The martial arts master immediately tried to disengage but between reacting just a little too slowly and Negi-sensei pressing his attack to delay him, he was a fraction of a second too late. Despite his evasions, the magical arrows hit their mark and caught him in their binding winds.

Despite his predicament however he burst out into a satisfied laugh.

"Brillant!" He praised as he reined his laughter in. "Using the lure of an obvious trap to keep me distracted enough to miss you triggering it? And exploiting my desire to play mentor to do so? Smart. Very smart. Best of all, you're making me eat my earlier advice at the same time too."

"Thank you for the compliment, Bang-sensei." Negi-sensei said with a nod, even as he kept his guard up. "I am merely trying my best."

"And that's why you deserve this win." Bang-sensei said with a pleased grin. "I forfeit."

Despite the match ending by forfeit, the most anticlimactic of all outcomes, the sheer epicness of the fight and the honor on display seemed to more than made up for it in the audience's minds and they burst into cheers even as the announcer declared Negi-sensei the winner.

"Good match," Bang-sensei said, snapping the binding winds around him with a simple flex of his muscles and a little ki and walking over to offer Negi-sensei his hand.

The boy mage blinked in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head in amusement, or was it exasperation, and shook the elderly man's hand.

"Good match," he agreed as the crowd's cheers rose an octave at the sight of sportsmanship displayed by the two combatants.

That was about all the attention Ukyo gave that match however as she had more important things to worry about as Saotome Genma pushed through the others in the contestant rest area to head for his match. The kunoichi shot him a scathing glare and Eva-sama flashed her fangs at him but if he noticed either of them, he made no sign instead continuing his confident swagger towards the ring.

In contrast the ever mysterious Albireo-san just seemingly appeared out of the crowd without anyone noticing and walked leisurely into the ring.

" _You will serve as a nice warm up for my real target, mystery man."_ The panda said tauntingly via one of his signs.

Albireo-san's reaction, if he had any, was hidden by his deep hood and he appeared to just calmly continue waiting for the announcer to begin the match. This earned him a feral growl from Saotome Genma that reminded the audience that despite their reputations pandas were very much members of the bear family.

The announcer made a comment about all that. Something about Albireo-san being cool as a cucumber and Genma smashing the stereotype of pandas being docile animals but Ukyo barely heard him, she was too busy continuing to glare hatefully at her best friend's evil sire. Thus the first she noticed that the match had actually started was Albireo-san's signature fog rolling in to enshroud the ring.

It brought a frown to her face. She very much wanted to watch as the obviously powerful mage smacked the arrogant panda down. She was comforted somewhat though when in less than five minutes - Closer to three minutes but who was counting, right? - Saotome was sent flying out of the fogbank covered in bruises to crash into the moat.

Ukyo was one of the few in the audience who cheered along at the sight. Most seemed tired of the anticlimactic way Albireo-san was handling his opponents, but she was too happy at seeing Genma suffer to care about that.

" _Anyone seen Saotome-san?"_ The announcer said suddenly, sounding worried. " _He hasn't surfaced and the safety teams can't find him-"_

_Did he drown?_ Ukyo couldn't help but hope vindictively.

" _No, wait. False alarm. I just got word from the organizer that he was spotted dragging himself out of the moat and fleeing at top speed out of the stadium. I guess some people just can't take a loss with grace."_

Ukyo completely agreed that Genma met that description to a tee and nodded along automatically but quickly caught herself.

_If he's run off then he... might be going after Ranchan!_

Her face paling at the horrifying thought she immediately leapt to the roof of the stadium and searched the surrounding area for any trace of the panda. There was no way she was letting him hurt her best friend.

_Not if I have anything to say about it!_

* * *

"Brat, tell the organizers I forfeit." Eva told her lone male apprentice distractedly as she watched Kuonji leap to the stadium's roof and begin searching for the missing panda.

"Wha-!? But you're one of the finalists! We were going to have a free for all and-"

"And I don't care," Eva told the boy, emphasizing her point by shooting him a red eyed glare. "I have more important things to worry about right now than a simple Tournament."

The vampire honestly expected him to whine some more but he surprised her by nodding in understanding.

"You need to hunt down that panda man, don't you?" The son of the Thousand Master said with a frown. "Is he really Ranma-san's biological father? And is he really here to hurt her?"

"Pretty sure on the first count." Eva said with a nod, even as she tapped her foot impatiently. "And less so but still quite confident on the second. Any other questions?"

"No," the brat said with a shake of his head. "Good luck hunting the scoundrel down, Master. Please keep Ranma-san safe."

Eva didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. Of course she'd keep Ranma safe! She was her girl- Her apprentice! Ranma was her apprentice and she wanted to protect her, just like a good master should! That was all! That she wanted to tear the bastard that had so hurt the girl she lo- That she respected! _Respected_!

Eva was sure she heard her subconscious laugh at her denial even as she leapt to the top of the stadium roof at last. Kuonji had already left by this point - Curse that redhead brat and his troublesome time consuming questions! - having picked up some kind of trail left by the panda and following it hopefully.

_She's the ninja. Tracking is one of their skills isn't it?_ Eva reasoned to herself. _At the very least, she'd be better than me right now. Stupid curse._

Even with the power leaking out of the World Tree boosting her magic slightly and giving her access to some of her vampiric powers, she was nowhere close to her full capabilities. And even then tracking had never been her forte.

_Guess I'll just have to rely on Kuonji. Now where did she go?_ Eva thought as she looked around in a bid to find her crush's best friend.

Thankfully she was just a few buildings away, on the roof of a bell tower belonging to one of Mahora's many schools and one designed to emulate a traditional English country school. Using _Shundō_ , her ki was easier to access at the moment than magic, she teleported to the kunoichi's side.

"Found his trail?" The vampire asked without preamble.

"I think so," the other girl replied with an equal lack of pleasantries.

"It seems he ran out of the stadium naked. As a human. It caused a minor fuss once he dropped out of _Shundō_ but he quickly changed back into a panda and sped off again." Kuonji informed her as she pointed to a couple of campus security officers trying to calm down a group of upset college age girls.

_Must be out of towners. No self-respecting student or resident of Mahora would be as freaked out as they look at something like that._

"He was human? Isn't the curse's transformation triggered by hot water? I know the moat back at the Tournament is heated just in case but that's barely enough right?"

"It wasn't the pool. I overheard some of the conversations in the stadium before I left. I think someone spilled the thermos of hot water they were about to use to cook their instant noodles on him when he was pulling himself out of the moat. Gave the poor girl a fright."

"Suddenly being confronted by a naked man can do that." Eva commented with a shake of her head. "So where to next?"

"He fled west from the stadium," Kuonji said, pointing in that direction. "At least that's where his ki trail leads?"

"You think he's spoofing it?" Eva asked with a frown.

"He might," Kuonji nodded. "He's supposed to be a master. Especially at evading pursuit."

"We've to start looking somewhere," Eva told her with a sigh.

Kuonji nodded and sped west with her _Shinsoku_ , Eva just a step or two behind her.

* * *

"Damnit!" Eva cursed as she saw the sun beginning to set, its rays turning orange as it did and subtly tinting the world accordingly. "When you said that the piece of shit was a master of evasion, I never thought he'd be _this_ good."

"It's only been a couple of hours," Kuonji noted with a raised eyebrow. "Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?"

"Yes," Eva admitted with a blush at the prospect of just what appointment was about to draw her away from the hunt. "I have a dinner date to get to."

"Judging by that blush and the fact you called it a date, I guess it's safe to say you're meeting Ranchan?" Kuonji asked, a teasing, knowing grin on her face. "Finally going to formally ask her out?"

"How did you- Wha!? No- Yes- That's-!"

_Way to go Eva. Just a little teasing and you can't even string together a proper sentence? You have it bad! Argh!_

"You're just lucky you're Ranma's best friend," Eva said with a warning growl as she composed herself. Not that her still glowing blush helped her look intimidating. "Or else I'd hang you by your pinky toes."

"But I am and if you do, Ranchan will get mad at you." Kuonji taunted back with a grin.

Resisting the urge to stamp her feet in frustration, Eva decided retreat was the safest option here. If she stayed, she was just leaving herself open to more teasing. Thus with one last glare she spun around as dramatically as she could and sped off towards her cottage using _Shundō_. She had an important date to prepare for.

* * *

A half hour and a shower later, Eva stood in front of the mirror as Chachamaru and her surveyed their handiwork. With her servant's help, she'd gotten herself dolled up in a gown with plenty of lace trim and satin bow accents. It was made of rich silk taffeta and had a satin underskirt. Ruffled lace trimmed the off-the-shoulder style at the neckline and over the sleeves, and a bobbinette rose finished the center front. The three-quarter sleeves were accented with a satin ribbon and finished out with more bobbinette and lace. The bodice featured a flattering V at the waist and a generously-gathered overskirt was lifted into wide poufs all around to reveal the separate shimmering satin underskirt which featured a deep ruffle to catch the light.

Yes, the outfit needed a full crinoline but that was a small sacrifice for the look. One that was further accentuated by the tasteful boots, jewelry, gloves and makeup that she'd chosen to compliment the gown. All in various shades of her favorite black of course.

Eva's dress minus the colour change to her favorite black.

"Are you sure that you are not going overboard, Master?" Chachamaru asked, looking at Eva's reflection with just a tinge of skepticism in her eyes as the vampire twirled around in front of the mirror.

"I _want_ to make an impression." Eva rebutted easily. "Besides, even if I am stuck with the body of a ten year old there are ways to make me look older and I've used every trick in the book, barring magic, to do so already. So I _know_ I don't look like a little girl playing dress up."

"That is not what I meant, Master. I merely worry that Ranma-sama might feel a little underdressed if she sees you show up dressed like this."

"Have you seen Ranma's haute couture collection?" Eva asked with a snort. "She knows we'll be eating at a fancy restaurant. She'll dress for the occasion. You know she savors every opportunity to do so. So there's a good chance that she'll show up dressed even fancier than I am."

Chachamaru blinked, probably processing thousands of data points as she did so, and nodded in agreement.

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Of course it does, I reasoned it out didn't I?" Eva declared haughtily. "Now, just out of curiosity, tell me the outcome of the Martial Arts Tournament."

"I am sure you will be unsurprised, Master, to learn that Albireo Imma-san defeated Negi-sensei and won the event."

"Yeah, called it." Eva said as she finished admiring her outfit and picking up the gown's matching umbrella, began making for her cottage's front door. "The brat is improving leaps and bounds, but he is still years away from matching that old Al Rubra veteran."

Chachamaru just nodded.

"Now, I dunno and don't want to know what Chao has you doing as part of my end of the deal we made." Eva said as she stopped at the front door and shot her gynoid servant a look. "But whatever it is I expect you to be home before I am. Got it?"

"Yes, Master. Thank you for your concern."

Eva waved the thanks away dismissively and stepped out of the house.

"Have a good date, Master."

"Oh, I will. Chachamaru. I will indeed."

* * *

Sitting in her viewing chamber, Chao watched on as Negi-sensei and Albireo Imma-san fought. Yet as she sipped her iced coffee, her heart wasn't very much into the fight nor even the various equations and variables shooting up on the screens around her showing her the real time analysis of the fight and the combatants' capabilities. Not even Albireo-san using his artifact to bring forth a shade of Nagi Springfleid to combat Negi-sensei managed to stir her interest.

It was certainly an emotional confrontation of epic proportions. Spells full of flash, bang and sizzle danced across the sky as the two held a heartfelt conversation both through word and spellfire but in the end… it wasn't really any different from the old recordings that the time traveler had already seen in the future.

And despite the Springfields being her great, great grandfather and great grandfather respectively, there was a more pressing issue that made her stomach twist like a pretzel with worry.

"Would it really be changing history if I just skinned that damned panda? I mean, it'd protect and avenge Shishou and Shīmǔ would be all for it." The genius from the future's brow knitted as she frowned.

She had no doubt that the person that Saotome Genma kept talking about targeting was her beloved foster mother…

"And Shishou wouldn't mind, right?" Chao thought as she brought up a live feed of the aforementioned panda blinking to and fro throughout Mahora via _Shundō_. Why he was doing it was beyond her. As far as she knew, he was unaware that he was being watched. Maybe he was just that paranoid? She didn't know and didn't want to. Understanding a psycho like him was something she would rather avoid if she could help it.

"But then again Shishou was _very_ firm that I shouldn't go off script when she sent me back," Chao said, biting her lip nervously and looking around the room anxiously. It was supposed to be secure. But knowing her Shishou, if she wanted to, nothing Chao could come up with would stop her from showing up or sending someone in her stead. Yes, even from the future. Shishou was just that scary.

She took a brief cautionary scan of the ceiling, just in case. Good, the coast was clear. Shishou's subordinate slimes had a very nasty habit of randomly - Cough!They totally do it on purpose!Cough!- dropping from the ceiling onto her all the time!

"Oh, it's the prize giving ceremony already?" Chao noted absently as she looked down. "Guess I should go make an appearance."

Even as she did, she did so on autopilot. Her mind was still too busy vacillating between intervening and doing nothing. If Albireo-san and Negi-sensei noticed or minded, they said nothing so Chao was glad enough for that.

As she returned to her office afterwards, after taking the stairs up the high tower mind you, she _finally_ made a decision.

"Can't risk it," Chao said with a tired sigh. "If Shishou finds out, she'll be unhappy."

She suppressed a shudder. She'd probably get stuck doing duty on the frontline of some war with Zero-chan again. Babysitting the murder doll as she went for her walk that one time was traumatising enough for her, thank you very much!

"Besides this is Shishou's fight." She concluded. "I've interfered with her life enough already."

And as loathe as she was to let this go when the woman who raised her, who was more her mother than the woman who birthed her, faced what was possibly the most traumatic fight of her life… Chao knew she could make it. She and the future she came from was proof of that. It was why she'd not interfered during the Kyoto trip despite itching to do so. And if she could restrain herself then…

_Then I can do so now._

Besides, she was already likely going to face some serious grounding when she got back to her own time, there was no need to actively work towards getting even more heavily punished.

"Chao Lingshen! By order of the Kanto Magic Association, you are under arrest." Takahata-sensei said as he burst into her office at the head of a group of the campus' magical teachers.

Smiling cutely for her old teacher, the Chinese girl offered a flashy wink.

"Heya Takahata-sensei," Chao greeted them with a salute even as she used her free hand to pull out and configure her Cassiopeia behind her back. "Capture me for punishment? Betcha you've got nothing on the punishments I was just thinking about. Shishou's got you mortals all beat in the scary and inventive departments."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gandolfini-sensei sneered.

"Nothing you'll get for oh, say, half a year?" Chao said with a mischievous grin. "But thanks for letting me talk so long. I needed the time to set up my escape."

"Stop her!" Seruhiko-sensei shouted as he and Gandolfini-sensei prepared to cast something at her.

Strangely, Takahata-sensei, the only one who was fast enough on the draw to actually have a chance to stop her did nothing. He just frowned and seemed to be trying to puzzle out the meaning behind her statements.

"Heehee! Let it be known you almost captured the great alien genius that is Chao Lingshen! And failed once again!"

With a click of her Cassiopeia, the girl was gone in a flash of temporal light even as Seruhiko-sensei and Gandolfini-sensei's binding spells discharged harmlessly at the empty air where she had stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Whoo! Talk about a big chapter, huh? Well, it was certainly fun to make some of the new fights although summarized at some occasions. Swords fights, fist fights, magical battles and crazy martial arts shenanigans? Hope we got it all in there. And of course Eva preparing for her not!date with Ranma. Although I do hope we gave a good showing for Ukyo and Negi against their opponents, it was fun to change up the canon tourney. The cameo characters were fun to use for sure.
> 
> Nameless: Does Takahata suspect that Chao might be speaking the truth about being a time traveler? Considering he's portrayed as generally being very open and the possibility that he's noticed that there's multiple Negis running around the festival since he at least keeps an eye out for him… I'm guessing he might, hence the hesitation. On another note, I hope you liked the blatant foreshadowing that was Chao's thinking on whether to kill Genma. Being subtle didn't really fit her frame of mind, so we had to be on the nose. Might have overdid it so do let us know your opinion.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	29. Mahora Festival - Day 2 Part 2 - Steady Status

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Mahora Festival - Day 2 Part 2 - Steady Status**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was mid-afternoon of the second day of the Mahora Festival and Ranma was just leaving the 3-A attraction after finishing her last shift there.

“Are you sure that you are feeling better today?” Izumi-san asked, offering her a worried look.

“I’m fine, Izumi-san. I managed to keep my cool for my whole shift didn’t I?” Ranma replied with a grin, amused by the continuing concern that her classmates were showing her after her meltdown yesterday.

Even Negi showed up to check on her, despite his insane schedule. 

It was getting a little tiring reassuring them she was fine but she appreciated their concern enough to not let it get to her and remain pleasant.

“Alright, but take a break if you feel the need okay?” Izumi-san urged. 

Ranma just nodded and turned to leave with a wave, her familiars trailing behind her.

“Will do, Izumi-san. See you later.”

* * *

A little over an hour later, she was on a roof overlooking World Tree park as she carried out a shift of overwatch duty to stop anyone from confessing and unwittingly triggering the Tree’s power. It was a tiring, boring job that saw her taking out a dozen couples attempting to confess with sleeping spells using her crossbow in the last hour alone. 

It was boring even with her familiars keeping her company.

Honestly, the Kanto Association should find some way to just drain the World Tree’s magic and save themselves the trouble every twenty two years. Then again considering that they’d had hundreds of years to try and solve the problem, that and possibly every other conceivable solution, had been considered at one time or the other. So that they didn’t do it either meant they never figured out how, a distinct possibility considered the sheer amount of magic involved, or any attempt they had required a process that was a logistical nightmare which was likely both too costly and too difficult to easily hide from the mundanes. 

_Which just means this is the most cost-effective solution that the Association could come up with._ Ranma reasoned with a sigh. _Even with magic and decades of prep time, sometimes trade-offs just have to be made I guess._

She just wished that the trade-off didn’t have to involve boring her out of her mind.

“We should just kill them,” Zero-chan insisted. “Take one out as an example and the rest will know to stay away.”

“Or let us go scare them.” Suramui suggested, with both Pudding and Ameko nodding in agreement.

“That’s not my mission,” Ranma reminded them.

“Yo! Crossbow-nee-chan!” Kotarō-kun called out as he walked over with Nagase-san. 

“Hello, Ranma-san. Having fun?” The crazy tall ninja girl asked. 

“Yep.” Ranma lied. “What can I do for you two today?”

“Oh, Kaede-nee here talked about how tough you are in a fight. Since you skipped the martial arts tournament, I was hoping for a spar or somethin’, ya know?” The eager young hanyou asked, a big grin on his face.

“ _We_ were hoping for a spar.” Nagase-san amusingly corrected the boy. Huh, they seemed rather close. Ranma wondered how that happened. “I think it would be a good chance to test our strength against someone who is a pure spellcaster such as yourself, seeing as how we were slightly flatfooted against that Ku:Nel Sanders fellow.” 

“Hm, I don’t see why not. It'd be a good chance for me too. I have a few things I’d like to test.” The redhead agreed with a smile. “After the Festival, we’ll set something up.” 

“Sure,” Kotarō-kun agreed. “Check your schedule when you have the time and we can set things up.”

“Okay, I’ll do that after my shift.” Ranma agreed happily. 

“We look forward to it,” Nagase-san said with a pleasant grin. “Enjoy your shift.”

“Yup. See you later.” The hanyou said with a wave as he and the kunoichi departed.

Ranma was about to return her attention to the park below when her phone suddenly rang. Pulling it out, she checked the caller ID and seeing it was Haruna, immediately answered.

“What is it, Haruna?” Ranma asked in lieu of a greeting.

_“Where are you, Onee-sama?”_

“I’m at the World Tree park. I am carrying out my shi-”

_“Okay, I’m on my way.”_

Before Ranma could even reply, Haruna hung up and Ranma just sighed as she put her phone away. Her sister could be so rude over the phone at times. Sadly despite Ranma’s best efforts, there seemed to be nothing that she could do to get her sister to change. So with nothing to do, she returned to her duty.

“Onee-sama, I’m here.” Haruna said as she appeared about fifteen minutes later. “You really should rotate your sniper nest a little. Using the same one all the time, makes you an obvious target.”

“It’s the spot I was assigned.” Ranma said with a shrug. “Besides, my nest is hidden by magic.”

“I guess,” Haruna said disinterestedly before she sat down next to where Ranma lay prone on the rooftop. “So I bring news from the martial arts tournament. It’s confirmed Genma was there. He’s in Mahora. I saw him.”

Ranma breathed harder for a moment, before taking a deep breath to calm herself. Once she had regained her equilibrium, she nodded in acknowledgement.

Haruna waited a moment longer to be sure that Ranma would keep her cool before changing the topic.

“Onee-sama~ You’re being boring! What are you doing up here working and not enjoying the Festival?”

“I missed a shift yesterday, remember,” Ranma reminded her sister. “I need to cover this one to make up for it.”

“Did anyone tell you that you needed to? Or are you just assuming things?”

Ranma didn’t answer but Zero-chan ‘helpfully’ spoke up on her behalf.

“Mistress did it all on her own.”

In response, Haruna bonked Ranma on the head.

“You’re a workaholic, Onee-sama.” She chided. “I’ll let it go today since I know you’ll be all stubborn about it if I don’t but you’ve gotta promise to go enjoy the Festival with me tomorrow, that good?”

“Sure,” Ranma agreed reluctantly, wary of what shenanigans Haruna would drag her into.

“Good. Now, this shift ends in an hour at dinnertime right?” Haruna asked and Ranma nodded. “So want to go grab something together?”

“Sorry, Haruna, but I have plans.”

* * *

Ranma's dress

Ranma straightened out her Mandarin collar long sleeve lace maxi dress, making sure she was presentable for whatever this meeting Chao had called her for was about. She was honestly surprised to get an invitation to meet her from her enigmatic classmate who had suddenly made herself the enemy of the Kanto Association but she wasn’t about to turn down a chance to dine, at someone else’s expense no less, at one of Mahora’s best restaurants. Said restaurant was very exclusive, being located on the far edge of town, a good distance from the main campus of Mahora and was usually well beyond the means of its students, and even most of its staff, catering instead for the campus’ high rollers. 

_Alright, hopefully I can weasel out some of Chao’s plans during this talk. Seriously, that girl is trying to make enemies out of every magical teacher at the academy!_ Ranma thought, fuming at how overboard the usually intelligent girl was being. Whatever scheme she was concocting, surely she could’ve managed it without burning so many bridges.

As she entered the restaurant, instead of finding Chao like she had hoped, Ranma’s heart stopped as she saw her Shishou there in a pretty lolita dress with all the frills and whistles. 

Upon seeing her, the blonde pouted and said, “I would have thought you’d have dressed up for the occasion.” 

Cheeks blazing red from embarrassment, the young magical prodigy confessed, “If I knew I was going to have dinner with you, Shishou, I would have done so. I swore Chao-san told me to meet her here, and considering her situation I thought we might have had to fight. I didn’t want to risk any of my truly nice dresses in a fight.” 

“Reasonable,” Shishou said with a pouty nod. “But still disappointing.”

“I’ll wear something fancy for the next training session?” Ranma offered.

“Deal,” Shishouu said with an excited grin. 

“Any preferences? A style you want me to wear?”

“No, surprise me.” The vampiress declared like it was a noble decree. 

Any further discussion was put on hold as a waiter came over to take their orders and as he finished, he unexpectedly offered a letter to Ranma.

“This is for you, miss.” The man said with a pleasant grin. “It’s from the lady who set up the reservation.”

“From Chao-san?” Ranma said as she took the letter. “Thank you.”

“No problem, miss.” The waiter said with a smile. “Your meals will be delivered shortly.”

“So what does Chao have to say?” Shishou asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“I have no idea. Let me read it first.” Ranma replied as she opened the admittedly very well made envelope and pulled out the very professional looking paper. Unfortunately, the writing itself was hardly as professional. It looked rushed if anything else.

_Hi Ranma-san,_

_Chao here. Just wanted to let you know that according to my calculations, this restaurant is far enough away from the World Tree to not trigger its wish granting power. So please go ahead to tell Eva-sama how you feel. It’s about time already! Practically the whole class knows you two are already dating, so time to make it formal._

_Don’t be afraid!_

_The Mage of the Abyss shouldn’t be afraid of anything. So go for it!_

_Chao Lingshen_

Ranma was a little confused by the mention of the Mage of the Abyss. Whoever was that? Was Chao referring to her? If so then why?

Shaking her head, she focused on what was the really important part of the note. 

_It’s safe to confess here?_ Ranma thought, biting her lip nervously as she fought the blush. _Should I?_

Chao-san was right. Even if she had refused to admit it, she knew that she and Shishou were basically dating. They had just been unwilling to admit it.

 _Since when was I such a coward?_ Ranma thought as she began to build up her confidence. _Time to stop being one._

With a flutter in her heart, Ranma pursed her lips as she looked to Shishou with a serious look on her face. “Shishou! I-I want you to know, I want us to go out, l-like girlfriend and well, girlfriend. Okay?”

She was gifted with the sight of a pink cheeked Shishou.

“Well, I suppose we could. I do admit, I am curious about what having a relationship with one of my students would be like.” The vampire curled a lock of hair around her finger, though she did have a silly little smile on her face.

Was Eva-chan happy about them dating too? She looked like it. That’s good! That’s super good. 

Despite how clumsy her confession was, Ranma felt that this was just plain right. 

“So, um, what do couples do on a dinner date?” Ranma asked awkwardly, trying to move the date forward but honestly not knowing how to do so.

“Honestly I wouldn’t know.” Eva admitted. “This is the first proper date that I’ve been on. Any relationships I’ve had before were a lot more informal.”

“Oh,” Ranma said with a pout.

“Now, if you want to know what we can do sneaking out of a castle to explore the woods and each others’ bodies, that I’d know.”

Ranma blushed crimson at the latter part but her curiosity couldn’t let the first part go.

“How long ago was this?”

“Ages,” Shishou said with a shrug. “I was pretty young back then. Less than a century old. So sometime during the 14th century.”

“I think dating culture and etiquette has changed since then,” Ranma deadpanned.

Shishou chuckled. “Yeah, I know. So modern girl, any idea what couples in our situation do then?”

“I don’t know from experience,” Ranma said with a blush, embarrassed a little at her lack of experience compared to her girlfriend. “But if pop culture is anything to go by, I guess we can, um, talk? It’s only our first date, right? Usually that’s just to get to know one another and we don’t need that since you’re my Shishou and all, but, yeah, we can just chit chat?”

Shishou looked thoroughly amused by Ranma’s little ramble but graciously did not laugh at her. 

“Sure, let’s talk then.” She graciously replied instead.

“So anything interesting happened to you in the Festival so far? Besides my meltdown the other day the only thing I’ve been doing is covering my shifts at the haunted house and at World Tree Park.”

“I got pretty far into the tournament, but it just felt so boring towards the end.” Eva said, a pout on her face. 

“Not too interested to be honest.” Ranma said with an apologetic shrug. “If it was a magical tournament like the ones from Mundus Magicus then maybe but this seems a little too, I dunno, tame in comparison.”

“We should have that organized next year!”

“Not sure I’d like it either. It’ll be better but I’m not much of a tournament person.” Ranma admitted. “I don’t even like them in manga and anime much. One on one fights with stakes? Sure. But a whole tournament? It just feels so contrived.”

“Bah, but triumph over the masses is so much fun.” Eva grumbled. “I know you like your research, but trust me, nothing is better than seeing the broken body of your enemies before you.”

“Eh, Shishou that sounds pretty terrifying.”

“I know, isn’t that great?” 

Ranma shook her head in bemusement. 

Their conversation was briefly interrupted by the arrival of their food but soon picked up again once the servers left. The two of them speaking in between bites of their meal.

“So when are you due for your shifts at the haunted house again, Shishou?”

“End of the Festival.” Shishou said with a shrug. “I’m supposed to play the little girl ghost. I suggested being the little girl vampire instead but they said I was too cute to be a vampire.”

“Who did? Iincho?” Ranma asked, stifling a giggle at the irony.

“Mainly, but the whole bunch of idiots on the planning committee agreed with her.” 

“Well, if you’re that badly outvoted then there’s nothing you can really do about it.”

“Yeah, I know.” Shishou said with a tired sigh. “Still, I’ll be sure to haunt their dreams after the event.”

“By the way Ranma, since we’re dating now you can call me Eva-chan outside of training from now onwards.” Shishou offered with an inviting smile. “Or even just Eva, if you’re up to it.”

“Uh, I think I’ll just go with Eva-chan for now?” Ranma said, blushing brilliantly at the trust that her girlfriend was offering by allowing her to address her without honorifics. Non-Japanese, like Eva-chan herself, might not understand but the use of one’s given name without any honorifics was a big deal for Japanese! At least it was to Ranma.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with.” Eva-chan said with a slightly disappointed pout.

“So how’s the food?” Ranma asked, changing the topic.

That pout was devastating! If she didn’t get Eva-chan to stop she didn’t know what the vampire would be able to get her to agree to.

“It’s okay, could use some more blood in it. Mm, lets get some rabbit next time. I swear you’d love a good rabbit. With the right spices it’s just so perfect!” Eva-chan assured her. 

“I know,” Ranma said, agreeing with a nod. “Had some on my training trip from hell. Trying exotic food along the way are some of the few fond memories I have of it. Some of them anyway.”

“Oh, that’s good. Hm, what else have you had?”

“Ever had grilled snake? They are pretty good too.”

“Can’t say I have.” Eva-chan said with an intrigued shake of her head. “Not in my seven hundred years. Ever had crickets? That was a strange one.”

“It’s cheap protein. Poor folks eat them loads in the countryside over on the Asian mainland. Spiders too.”

“Tried a fried spider once when I was traveling through Southeast Asia, can’t remember exactly where.” Eva-chan said with a cute thoughtful look. “It tasted a lot like eating calamari.”

“Grilled squirrel?” Ranma tossed in, a smile on her face as they talked. 

“Ugh! Squirrels are unhygienic enough already. They’re basically just rats living in trees. I’m not touching one.”

The two of them shared a look before they giggled. 

“You never really ate squirrel did you?”

“No, they’re hard to catch and small. Not worth the effort.” Ranma said with a shake of her head. “Better to just put in more work to bag a wild boar or something more hefty.”

“Boar, I have not had boar in ages!” Eva-chan confessed with a look of longing. “It used to be a staple back in the Middle Ages but then commercial pig farming took off and now you can’t find it anywhere. Pork from a farm pig just isn’t the same!”

“I’m with you there, Eva-chan.”

“You calling my name has such a nice ring to it,” Eva-chan said with her eyes closed and a goofy smile on her face like she was savoring the memory of hearing Ranma say her name over and over again.

Suddenly in a blur of _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement), a unfortunately familiar Chinese girl with waist-length purple hair styled with a fringe and two strands hanging in front that were secured with ties and dressed in a matching Chinese-style blouse and pants appeared out of nowhere.

“Eat _Bīngxióng_ _Quán_ (Fist of the Ice Bear) Ranma!” The insane Chinese Amazon that Ranma had the misfortune to recognize as Shān Pú said as she used her ki to freeze some of the water vapour in the air as she while punching the air, thus sending blocks of ice at Ranma.

Ranma acted quickly, using _Volant_ (fly) to blur out of the way of the attack whilst also casting the rest of her standard suite of combat enhancement spells.

 _Guess, this date still transformed into a fight in the end._ Ranma thought as she stopped at the other side of the restaurant from the table where just seconds ago she had been enjoying her first date with her girlfriend.

“Who the hell are you!?” Said girlfriend roared as she surged to her feet, her eyes glowing red. “Why are you attacking my girlfriend!?”

“I kill Ranma then drag glasses teacher back to village to marry, then honor restored!” The Amazon shouted in broken Japanese as she used _Shundō_ (Instant Movement) to surge in front of Ranma and lash out with a series of rapid strikes. It was pretty impressive too, since it seemed like she managed hundreds of strikes in a matter of seconds.

Sadly for her, Ranma had used _Volant_ to blur out of the restaurant the moment the crazy had moved and so the purple haired girl just hit empty air.

“You evade my _Huǒzhōng Tiānjīn Gānlì Quán_ (Imperial Roasting Chestnuts in the Fire Fist)? How!?” The crazy chick cried out in shock.

“That’s the least of your worries, you psycho.” Eva-chan said with a growl as she appeared behind their Chinese attacker through the use of _Shundō_ and grabbed hold of the distracted Amazon before tossing her towards the restaurant entrance with an Aikido throw.

Even as the Amazon was still trying to regather her wits, Eva-chan had used _Shundō_ to close the distance once again and planted both feet into the purple haired girl’s midsection in a powerful kick that sent her shooting out of the establishment entirely.

“Ten out of ten.” Ranma complimented with a grin as she saw her attacker slam into the street outside just behind her. “Especially since you held back and didn’t end up damaging the street.”

“As you know, my apprentice, I have excellent self-control.” Shishou said with a scoff as she blurred to Ranma’s side.

“You not beat me yet.” The Chinese psycho said as she stumbled to her feet and stabbed her hand at the ground. “ _Bàosuì Diǎnxué_ (Breaking Point)!”

From the point where her hand touched the ground, the street exploded sending chunks of it flying at Ranma and Eva-chan.

“ _Obice_ (Barrier),” Ranma said with a roll of her eyes as she conjured the basic barrier spell to shield them from the attack. “Guess we can’t expect a psycho to restrain from collateral damage.”

They both ignored how the Chinese girl touched the geyser of water that was shooting into the air from the broken water pipe she’d created from her previous attack, and with a shout of _Shāyú Quán_ (Shark Fist) redirected the water into pressurized gouts to attack them.

“No, we can’t.” Eva-chan said with a growl even as the water jets splashed harmlessly against Ranma’s barrier. “Let me handle this. I deserve catharsis for this bitch ruining our date.”

“She’s all yours,” Ranma said with a gracious bow.

Her exaggerated gesture earned an amused smirk from Eva-chan as she shot towards the Amazon in a burst of _Shundō_.

To Ranma’s mild surprise, instead of being caught off guard by Eva-chan’s sudden attack, Shān Pú instead smirked and evaded the vampire’s initial attack whilst poking the blonde with one finger.

“Yay! Caught you with _Quánshēn Māoshé_ (Full Body Cat's Tongue). Now you feel real cold! _Bīngxióng_ _Quán_!” With that the Amazon switched from evasion to going on the offensive, sending icy missiles at Eva-chan.

The vampire dodged the attack but it seemed she was still affected by it, as she suddenly fought off a shiver. Ranma felt a shiver of her own at the sight, hers out of worry rather than anything else.

“That poke was a pressure point technique that affected my sensitivity to temperatures, didn’t it?” Eva-chan asked with a frown that the Chinese girl just smirked at in reply which was answer enough. “Too bad for you that I happen to be a vampire and pretty much immune to temperature differences anyway. Being an ice mage has its own benefits too.”

“You vampire ice mage?” The Amazon asked, blinking in confusion. “Why that familiar?”

“Maybe because my reputation precedes me?” Eva-chan said with a chuckle as she used _Shundō_ to create some distance then threw her hands forward, sending her signature puppet strings flying towards the Chinese girl. 

“...Oh, t-that bullshit.” The Amazon said as Eva-chan’s strings wrapped around her and despite her struggles, quickly tied her up like a leg of ham.

“Welcome to the Big Leagues~ Now, how many pieces would you like your legs in? I’m feeling a solid well-rounded twenty. Each. You?” Eva-chan said with a murderous grin as she tugged on her strings and proceeded to send the bound girl flying leg first into the nearest building. Hard. Hard enough to snap bone if the sound of the sharp crack that reached Ranma’s ears was anything to go by.

“Boo, that only broke them seven times. Let’s try against some metal! Brick never breaks enough bones, I swear.” Eva-chan huffed and she flung the Chinese psycho towards a mailbox this time, only to be interrupted. 

“ _Yīyáng Zhǐ_ (One Yang Finger)!” A new, croaky voice shouted as a dozen ki bullets shot through the air and snapped Eva-chan’s strings.

This was almost immediately followed by a wrinkled, shriveled up crone jumping down between the defeated Amazon and Eva-chan.

Reacting to the possibility of a new, greater threat, Ranma summoned her familiars. Just in case.

“Spare my granddaughter, Dark Evangel-sama.” The crone said with a bow.

“You’re Kě Lún of the Nǚjié zú Amazons aren’t you? I remember hearing you became one of the elders of your tribe.” Eva-chan said as she eyed the new arrival warily. “This psycho is your granddaughter?”

 _Huh? Eva-chan knows the Joketsuzoku?_ Ranma thought, confused for a moment before she realised that it wasn’t really that surprising. _She did wander the world for seven hundred years, guess she’s visited practically everywhere at least once._

“Indeed, I have and yes, Shān Pú is my granddaughter.” The ancient woman, that looked like nothing less than an old ghoul, said with a nod. “It is a pleasure to meet you again, great one. I am surprised that you recognize me.”

“I’m a vampire.” Eva-chan said with a roll of her eyes. “I can _smell_ your blood. So long as it flows in your veins, I’d be able to recognize you.”

“That is good. Then on account of our old friendship, might you spare my granddaughter?”

“No,” Eva-chan said, taking a step forward as she twitched her fingers, causing her puppet strings to twirl around her in an intimidating display. “She threatened my girlfriend. And ruined our first date. That is unforgivable. Nay, a sin of epic proportion! In fact-!”

The Amazon elder winced but nevertheless jumped into action.

With a cry of _Jiǔyīn Báigú Zhǎo_ (Nine Yin White Bone Claw), she transformed her hands into vicious demonic claws that she used to trim Eva-chan’s strings.

“Eva-chan, please don’t beat up the little old lady for trying to protect the stupid she’s related to. I know the feeling of having to deal with idiot relatives.” 

“So you just want me to let her go?” Eva-chan asked incredulously as she picked up a trash can with her strings and threw it at the ancient woman, who used her claws to shred it.

“I’d _like_ to continue our date, but if beating up the elderly is more important…” Ranma huffed, arms crossed as she looked to the side. 

“Oh,” Eva-chan said as her strings which had previously been coiling through the air like hundreds of deadly snakes suddenly fell limp. “That’s a good reason.”

“No it isn’t!” Zero-chan said, stamping her cute feet in frustration. “We need blood.”

“Hush, Zero-sempai.” Ameko chided. “It’s up to what Mistress and her girlfriend want. Not what we want.”

Zero-chan just pouted.

“And I want ice cream.” Ranma said looking at Eva-chan meaningfully. 

“And they got away while we were deciding what to do.” Suramui said as she and Pudding looked off into the distance where Kě Lún was making her escape with the help of _Koku Shundō_.

“Guess that makes our decision for us,” Eva-chan said with a sigh as she twitched her fingers, respooling her strings. “So ice cream?”

“Yup.” Ranma said with a blush and a happy grin.

“Alright, but I demand that we need another date when there are less idiots around.” Eva-chan said, crossing her arms angrily. “And let’s go finish our meal inside. If it’s possible. I’m not about to let a free meal go to waste.”

Ranma happily agreed.

* * *

A few hours later, after they had finished their dinner, which thankfully they were able to continue after all, and a round of ice cream as dessert and a walk around the Festival, Ranma and Eva-chan were enjoying a quiet walk home. They were accompanied by Zero-chan and the Slime Sisters that Ranma had not dismissed. It being the Festival, people would overlook it. Not that there were any other people in the park around Ranma’s dorm that they were walking through at the moment.

“Even if we missed out on the bloodshed, I’m glad that Old Mistress has finally admitted she wants Mistress. She needed to get laid for a while now. Hopefully you can manage a needy girl like her, Mistress.”

“I’ll, uh, try Zero-chan.” Ranma said with a blush. “You’re not really that needy are you, Eva-chan?”

“You’ll just have to find out,” Eva-chan said with a lascivious wink.

Blushing, Ranma just nodded. 

“She’s super needy! Like this one time, during the Hundred Years War-”

“We swore never to talk about that!” Eva-chan all but shrieked at the little doll. 

“Mistress can be needy too!” Suramui declared proudly.

“What? No I’m not.” Ranma frowned at the slimes.

“What about all the Grimoire-kun? And all the happy fun times you have with them?” Suramui asked, tilting her head curiously. “Isn’t that because you’re needy and needed release, Mistress?” 

Ranma wanted to die, die in a small hole and be buried with little notice. 

“Uh, Suramui, I don’t think we were supposed to tell anyone what Mistress does when she makes herself happy.” Ameko said, shooting her sister a glare.

“Eh? But it’s noisy! She should at least make sure we aren’t there for it.” 

“Oh ho, so what exactly _do_ you do with your grimoires when you relieve yourself, Ranma? Do I want to know?” Eva-chan asked with a predatory grin.

“Nothing!” Ranma squeaked with her face matching her hair. 

“Look up Table-kun, Old Mistress. That should explain things.” Zero-chan explained with an impish grin.

Ranma viciously kicked the doll into the woods. On reflex of course. 

“Do you at least moan out my name when you get off?” Eva-chan asked, sounding vulnerable despite the embarrassing topic they were talking about.

“E-Eva-chan, not outside!” Ranma whined pitifully.

“So I can ask in private~?” The ancient vampire purred like a hellcat, even if her own face was flush at their wordplay. 

“The answer is yes,” Zero-chan said as she returned, leaping down from an overhanging tree to land atop Eva-chan’s head.

“Good,” Eva-chan said with a grin as she hopped over and gave Ranma a deep kiss. “Consider that your reward.”

“Bhwa?” The redhead gurgled out, her head feeling light from the adult kiss. 

“That better than time with Grimoire-kun?” Zero-chan asked, cheekily.

This time she was punted into the woods by the Slime Sisters.

Good girls. They were totally getting some kind of reward for that.

* * *

Several hours earlier, Chao watched as her Shishou and Shīmǔ finally became a couple and couldn’t help the squeal of excitement when they finally admitted the nature of their relationship. Sure, it wasn’t all that romantic but it was still incredible to her. It was the moment that her parents became a couple! It was totally a big deal to her!

She was still on this high as the couple had a pleasant dinner but that was brought to an abrupt halt when suddenly the Chinese Amazons attacked. 

“Damn them! Them and their terrible timing!” Chao cursed and wanted to break something. Mostly an Amazon neck. “Things were going so well!”

“Uh, is something wrong?” Hakase-san said as she came into Chao’s office, her hands full of reports that she was probably intending to brief her about.

“Nothing that Shīmǔ can’t fix.” Chao said with a grin as she saw her Shīmǔ beat the shit out of the crazy girl targeting Shishou. “So what’s up?”

“Well, apparently Ayase-san confessed to Negi-sensei while she was guiding him through a tour of Library Island.”

“Negi-bozu sure is popular with the ladies!” Chao said with a snicker. “He is such an unknowing chad!” 

“He certainly is.” Hakase-san said with a nod. “Though aren’t you taking him a little too lightly? Didn’t he fight you alongside Sakurazaki-san and Nagase-san earlier today?”

“That’s not even worth mentioning. That was barely a skirmish.” Chao said with a dismissive wave of her hand, before adding airily. “Though I can’t believe Neji-bozu was so weak.”

“Well Negi-sensei is still a kid, not ‘the greatest human magician in the world’ like you remember him being from your time.”

“Yeah, I guess I might be biased. I’m way too used to him eviscerating armies as a Sunday walk.”

“Okay that’s terrifying.” Hakase-san admitted with a shudder. 

“Hm, yep! So, how’s Asuna-san taking Takahata-sensei’s rejection?” Chao asked, actually feeling sorry for her distant relative. The poor girl deserved some happiness with her lot in life. 

Hakase-san adjusted her glasses. “According to the surveillance, it seems she’s taking it well. As usual, she’s got a stiff chin.” 

“That’s good.” Chao nodded with a small relieved look. “She’ll find someone who’ll appreciate her more eventually. She’s still in middle school after all. She’s got time.” 

“Is that knowledge from the future?” Hakase-san asked, curious.

Chao just gave her an evasive smile in reply.

Hakase-san just sighed and shaking her head, changed the topic.

“I know it’s kinda late but is it really a good idea to force people to acknowledge the existence of magic?”

“Trust me,” Chao reassured her. “This will make the future better.”

Hakase-san hesitantly nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> IT. IS. OFFICIAL. OTP Rangel is a go, I repeat it is a go. Man it was a nice build up and hopefully felt more organic this way instead of just handwaving them together. Chao is truly, the future’s one true shipper lol. 
> 
> Nameless: It was a long time coming, but at last the couple have stopped dancing around the truth and have openly declared their relationship. And we get more insight into Chao’s relationship with them too. The girl is seeing her parents get together. And is getting a kick out of it. Wonder if anyone else would feel the same?
> 
> Onto the skirmish portion of the fic, Shampoo was going to get owned. Even a de-powered Eva, who is getting stronger as the World Tree continues to build magic, could just own the Amazon and her granny 26 ways to Sunday. So she got a little catharsis for the interruption of HER Ranma-time. 
> 
> Nameless: By the way, did anyone recognize the techniques that Cologne used? If you did then you know you’re a fan of Jin Yong. If you didn’t go look him and his works up. They’re classics of the Chinese martial arts genre and worth a read if just to have a taste of it to see if it tickles your interest.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	30. Mahora Festival - Day 3 - Everything Ends According to Plan

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirty: Mahora Festival - Day 3 - Everything Ends According to Plan**

**Beta:**

* * *

For the umpteenth time, Ranma checked the strange message she’d gotten from Negi-sensei.

_Come to Master’s cottage this morning after breakfast. I’ve got a plan to handle Chao!_

The moment Haruna had received the message, she had run off ahead. Ranma would’ve followed but unfortunately she had a shift on sentry duty at World Tree Park to cover. So she’d told her sister that she’d follow once she was done and to keep her in the loop.

“And of course Haruna didn’t bother to tell me what plan Negi-bozu came up with.” Ranma said with a tired sigh as she walked to Eva-chan’s cottage with Ucchan after her shift. Her best friend having shared the shift with her.

“She probably got too excited.” Ucchan said with a shrug. “You know how your sister gets.”

“I wish she would be more responsible.” Ranma said with a pout. 

“I’m sure she’ll learn eventually?” Ucchan offered helplessly.

“I can only hope.”

“So~,” Ucchan said, changing the topic in a bid to lighten the mood. “Why are we going to Eva-sama’s place and not just calling Haruna-san?”

“She’s not answering my calls. Neither are any of the others. Either they are in the Resort or-”

“Or they are too busy setting up whatever ingenious plan they came up with to answer their phones.” Ucchan reasoned.

“Hm, I can see that happening. Negi-sensei can be really clever when he wants to be.” Ranma agreed, deciding to ignore the sarcasm and avoid returning to the previous topic. 

“Yeah, but why is he so against Chao-san anyways?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Sure she’s set herself against the Kantō Association for some reason, but Negi-sensei’s reaction seems a little extreme. Even obsessive.” Ranma said with a frown, not adding that Haruna was the same. Heck in the short call they’d had this morning before her sister had run off to Negi-sensei’s meeting she’d sounded terrified. “I couldn’t get anything out of Haruna. All she would tell me is not to ‘go slime’ whatever that meant and that she hoped Negi-sensei’s plan prevented that.”

“‘Go slime’?” Ucchan asked incredulously. “What does that mean? Something to do with the Slime Sisters?”

“No idea,” Ranma said with a shake of her head. “And I don’t think so.”

“I mean, unless we join some game show, I don’t see how else slime has anything to do with-” 

Ucchan never got to finish her sentence as suddenly the familiar figure of Hibiki Ryouga burst out of a bush ahead of them on the path through the park that surrounded Eva-chan’s cottage.

“Ranma! Kuonji-san! Thank heavens! I’ve been trying to find my way to either of you for days!” The boy said as he collapsed in relief in front of them.

“Why didn’t you ask someone from security for help? Or go to the main office? We do have phones, Hibiki-san. They could have called us for you.” Ranma told the boy. 

“I don’t think that’ll help.” Ucchan said with a shake of her head. “His curse is just that bad.”

“Really?” Ranma asked, genuinely shocked. Even more so when Hibiki and Ucchan both nodded. “Man, your bad luck is terrifying.” 

“I know,” the boy said, tears running down his face. “At least I didn’t run out of food whilst I was lost this time.”

“That happens!?” Ranma couldn’t help but gasp.

“Yeah, it’s what happened to him before he found us in Kyoto.” Ucchan explained. “It’s why I guided him to a restaurant after our fight. He mentioned he hadn’t eaten for days before that.”

“I didn’t.” Hibiki confirmed. “And thanks again for that Kuonji-san.”

“No problem,” Ucchan said, offering the boy a genuine smile. “So what brings you here this time Hibiki-san?”

“I, uh, d-developed a new t-technique, I, um, call it the _Shishi Hōkōdan_ (獅子咆哮弾, Lion Roaring-Bullet) and I-I would l-like to t-test it o-out in a s-spar.”

“With me?” Ranma asked, with an amused eyebrow as she watched the clearly infatuated boy stammer out a reply to Ucchan’s innocent question whilst his face sported an astonishing resemblance to a tomato.

“Y-Yes?” Hibiki said without conviction, his eyes darting between the two girls.

“Ranchan, why don’t I handle this?” Ucchan offered, with just the barest hint of a blush of her own. “That is if Hibiki-san wouldn’t mind.”

“O-Of course I w-wouldn’t mind!” Hibiki said, his blush, quite amazingly, getting even more intense.

“Then Ucchan, if you’re sure.”

“I am,” the kunoichi said with a decisive nod.

“Okay, then just one last parting question before I go.” Ranma asked teasing and curious all at once. “You’re a lot less hostile than last time we met, Hibiki-san. Did _something_ happen when you sparred with Ucchan last time? Something that as her best friend I should know?”

“Wha-?! N-No! Nothing happened, nothing at all!” He stammered out, face red as he looked like he wanted to run for the hills. His eyes very deliberately scanning everywhere except in Ucchan’s direction.

“Ranchan! Nothing happened! We just talked!” Ucchan said, her face now neon red.

“Talked. Right.” Ranma nodded as if it was obvious. “Was sweat, panting and rolling in the dirt involved?” 

“Ranchan!” “Ranma!”

Ranma just laughed at the couple’s denials.

“Okay, I’ll drop it and go.” Ranma said with a teasing grin. “But I expect an invite to the wedding~!”

With that last tease she cast a quick _Conniveo_ (Blink) and teleported the remaining distance to Eva-chan’s house leaving the couple sputtering in her wake.

She could see why Haruna loved teasing so much now.

* * *

“W-Wedding!?” Hibiki-san managed to say a full minute after Ranchan had disappeared.

Ukyo for her part was still fighting to suppress the heat suffusing her body that her best friend’s parting tease had triggered and only managed a shake of her head.

“S-She was joking.” She said, stammering a little herself as she struggled to regain her bearings. “So, um, you wanted to spar Hibiki-san?”

“Y-Yeah,” the boy said as he finally seemed to calm down at the prospect of a fight. “Know any good places for one?”

“Yup. Follow me.” Ukyo said with a nod. “I know just the place.”

It was only as she began leading the cursed boy towards the nearest of Mahora’s magically sealed training grounds that Ukyo realized how the exchange might have sounded to someone.

 _They might’ve thought I was leading him to somewhere we could have some kinda romantic rendezvous. Or worse._ Ukyo realized, causing her face to once more imitate a tomato.

Perhaps Hibiki-san realized the same or he was just reacting to Ukyo’s blush, but his face turned bright red as well.

Both of them were too embarrassed by the whole thing to say a word.

So it was that it was in an awkward silence that the two martial artists completed the walk to the magical training ground. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long one as there was one right there inside the park around Eva-sama’s cottage. 

It had been uncomfortable as is. Ukyo couldn’t imagine how much worse it would’ve been if it had been any longer.

“So, uh, till first blood?” Ukyo suggested as she gestured to one of the sparring rings set up in this particular sealed training ground.

“That or knockout?” Hibiki-san added as he walked over to one side of the ring and Ukyo did the same across from him. “Since you’re a swordswoman, I’m guessing we’ll be using weapons?”

“Of course,” Ukyo nodded as she unsealed her sword from her trusty watch and got into a fighting stance. “On three?”

Hibiki-san nodded.

“Three!” They both shouted in unison, forgoing the traditional countdown.

They both smirked at this surprise show of likemindedness even as they both blurred into motion.

Using _Shinsoku_ (Godspeed) Ukyo closed the distance with Hibiki-san and lashed out with a _Ryūsōsen_ (龍巣閃, Dragon Nest Flash), unleashing a massive flurry of strikes. On his part, Hibiki-san countered by spinning his ki-infused umbrella in front of him like a shield. Ukyo’s _Ryūsōsen_ proved too much for the improvised defense however and his umbrella was swiftly destroyed but it served its purpose and bought him the precious seconds he needed to use _Shundō_ (Instant Movement) to evade the rest of the attack.

Using his newly gained distance to his advantage, the boy flung a barrage of his bandanas at her. Normally this would hardly be a threat but thanks to his _Tetsu Nuno_ (Iron Cloth) technique, each of these otherwise innocuous pieces of fabric were now a deadly weapon. Between that and the impressive volume of them he was hurling her way, Ukyo elected to dodge rather than take it head on with a barrage of her own. 

Not that she did not give out as good as she got as the moment she finished her _Shinsoku_ powered evasion she threw a brace of her _Spatula Shuriken_ at her opponent. Hibiki-san responded by reaching behind his back and pulled a new umbrella out of thin air that he promptly used as a shield.

 _Just as planned._ Ukyo thought with a grin as she launched into her next attack.

Using a _Doryūsen_ (土龍閃, Earth Dragon Flash), she sent chunks of earth flying at Hibiki-san. As expected, unlike her he chose to weather the ranged assault rather than dodge. Exploiting the fact that he had not moved, Ukyo used _Shinsoku_ to get behind him and at close range hit him with a _Kuzuryūsen_ (九頭龍閃, Nine-Head Dragon Flash).

The technique that hit nine of the most key vital points on a person’s body almost all at once struck cleanly but much to Ukyo’s surprise rather than collapse in pain, the boy just grunted and spun around to attempt to smash her head in with a swing of his weighted, ki-enhanced umbrella.

 _How the hell did he just tank that!?_ Ukyo couldn’t help but think as she evaded his counterattack through a burst of _Shinsoku_ . _Even with me using my ki to dull my blade, getting hit at so many vitals at once would have taken down almost anyone!_

“T-That was a good attack, but I’m not out of this yet!” Hibiki-san roared out in defiance as he pulled out another of his umbrellas from thin air. Opening it, he started to spin it, causing the top pattern to swirl into something not unlike a hypno wheel.

“You do realize I’m a kunoichi right?” Ukyo said with a roll of her eyes as she simply threw a _Flour Bomb_ to create a smokescreen and thus break eye contact with the boy’s umbrella before whatever hypnotic technique he was using could take effect.

“Tch, as expected of you, Kuonji-san.” Hibiki-san said with a grin even as he used his umbrella to parry Ukyo’s sword as she attempted to use the smoke to close for a slash. “But I’ve got you where I want you now! _Shishi Hōkōdan_!”

With that loud declaration, he shot his free palm in Ukyo’s direction and sent a powerful blast of ki energy shooting at her. 

“Too slow,” Ukyo countered with a grin as she successfully used _Shinsoku_ to evade the attack. Well, mostly anyways. She hadn’t been quite fast enough to fully escape its path and the left side of her uniform was singed by the energy bullet.

“Yeah, it’s like that when I try it one handed.” Hibiki-san admitted as he tossed the umbrella in hand at Ukyo like a javelin, forcing her to step aside or be beaned in the head by the very heavy weapon. “Try evading the full powered version though. _Shishi Hōkōdan_!”

“How about no?” Ukyo countered as she decided to try a different approach for once. “Yūreiryūsen (幽霊龍閃, Ghost Dragon Flash).”

Her technique sent dozens of spectral blades of ki energy flying directly at Hibiki-san’s own ball of ki energy. The two masses of ki met with explosive results that lit up the entire training ground in the light of the short lived second sun their mixing created and threw up a massive cloud of dust as well.

Using that as cover, Ukyo shot forward using _Shinsoku_ and hit her distracted opponent with a Sōryūsen (双龍閃, Twin Dragon Flash). The battōjutsu strike sent him stumbling backwards from the sheer force Ukyo had put into it but the follow up blow from her sheath was what sealed the deal as it sent him sprawling to the ground and left him at her mercy.

“Aw man, I swore this was it. My ultimate technique…” Hibiki-san sighed as Ukyo pinned him to the ground, the tip of her sword kissing his neck and drawing a bead of blood. “Kounji-san, you really are incredible.”

Ukyo felt her cheeks warm at the sincere compliment as she realized the compromising position they were in. Quickly hopping back and sheathing her sword, the girl offered the travelling boy a hand. “Thank you, Hibiki-san.”

Taking the offered hand, the boy’s face was lit up just as brightly as she imagined hers was and his hand was sweaty. P-Probably due to their spar, of course!

“Y-You’re pretty good too.” Ukyo said, returning the compliment. “That ki blast of yours was plenty powerful.”

“T-thanks.” Hibiki-san said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

“You two! What do you think you’re doing!” A shrill voice said suddenly and the two spun around to see Ninomiya-sensei glaring at them. “You boy! You dare sully the reputation of one of Mahora’s maidens! How dare you!”

“Huh?” Hibiki-san said, blinking in confusion.

 _Sully my reputation?_ Ukyo thought, equally confused for a moment before she figured out what the high school teacher meant. _We’re both blushing and sweaty. Our clothes are ruffled and dusty from the spar. She thinks we-_

She couldn’t even finish the thought as her face glowed so brightly she was fairly sure it could be seen from space!

“I will have no choice but to relinquish you of what makes you a man for this offense!” The teacher declared with a sneer on her beautiful face. “Please prepare yourself.” 

“Ninomiya-sensei! It’s not like that!” Ukyo said urgently as she stepped protectively in front of the terrified Hibiki-san who had instinctively crossed his hands over his crotch at the threat. “We were sparring! Sparring!”

“Kounji-san, I know you are confused, but fret not. I will handle this cur.” The teacher promised softly with a kind look even as she threatened to _castrate_ a boy. A threat made all the more real as she conjured a potted cactus in her outstretched hand. A very tall, very spiny cactus.

“Hibiki-san run!” Ukyo said as she gathered her wits that had been thrown for a loop by the horrifying proclamation. 

“You shan’t get away, boy!” The teacher said even as Hibiki-san started running, already pooling his ki to pull off a _Shundō_ . “ _Thousand Needles!_ ”

At her incantation, thousands of the cactus’ spines shot from the plant at the fleeing Hibiki-san. Ukyo moved to step in the way, prepared to deflect the attack as best as she could but was tripped by a vine that shot out of the bushes before she could even take a step.

“Hibiki-san!” Ukyo cried out in alarm.

Thankfully, just as the needles - which rather terrifyingly had a homing function! - were about to catch up to him his _Shundō_ finally kicked in and he disappeared. 

“He vanished? How?” Ninomiya-sensei said, blinking in confusion. “He shouldn’t have managed to get out of my sensory range with just a single _Shundō_!”

 _His curse must have kicked in._ Ukyo realized with a sigh of relief. _Though how the hell did I find myself caught up in this s_ _trange Romeo & Juliet scenario? _

* * *

Whilst Ukyo was off ‘sparring’ with Hibiki, Ranma materialized from her _Conniveo_ teleport directly onto the front porch of Eva-chan’s cottage. 

“Hello Ranma,” her girlfriend greeted her pleasantly from where she looked to have been having tea on the bench located beside her front door.

“Hello Eva-chan,” Ranma returned, blushing slightly in the presence of her girlfriend.

She had a _girlfriend_! The idea was still new enough that it brought a feeling of heady excitement.

“Mm, I love that pet name.” The blonde smiled sharply, fangs poking out and twirling a lock of that golden blonde hair that Ranma loved to brush between her fingers. “And as much as I would love to hear you say it again and again. You didn’t come here to do that, did you?”

“No,” Ranma said as she sat down next to the vampire and casually snuggled into her side. “I’m looking for Haruna and the others. Are they in the Resort?”

“The Resort is closed for the time being for some maintenance and Negi-boya and his team of crazies, including your sister, have left.”

“Already?” Ranma asked with a frown. “Last I heard from them, they were asking me to come here. Nobody told me anything else.”

“And now I’m updating you.” Eva-chan said with an amused chuckle.

“Oh!” Ranma acknowledged with an embarrassed scratch of the back of her head.

“So since the others were so busy that they ran off without telling you, why not spend time with me instead?” Her girlfriend offered. “You can call me Eva-chan again, maybe between some kisses?”

“Gah!” Ranma felt like her heart was being stabbed by the sweetness in her voice as her face flushed red. “W-We can’t do that a-all day?”

“Whyever not?” Eva-chan asked, a lascivious grin on her face.

Nearly getting lost in those clear blue eyes that held a vampiric hunger to them, Ranma sadly shook her head. While the other half of her brain begged her to agree. 

“T-too soon, Eva-chan.” Ranma said, looking away to hide her _own_ want.

Eva-chan sighed in disappointment but conceded. 

“We’ll go slow then,” she allowed. “So how about we go on a date and tour the Festival instead?”

“That sounds good.” Ranma agreed, grinning happily.

“Wonderful,” Eva-chan said as she clapped her hands and smiled mischievously. “And I have the perfect looks for both of us as we do too.”

“Eva-chan?”

Ranma’s only reply was an even more mischievous look. One that had a healthy dose of anticipation and lust mixed in as well.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ranma totally understood the reason behind the look as she savored the vision of beauty that was walking beside her as she toured the festival. Instead of sporting her usual girlish form, her girlfriend was now in her adult form. One that had a figure supermodels would almost kill themselves to achieve coupled with a pair of breasts that would be the envy of _any_ woman. Dressed in a gothic lolita outfit that flattered every aspect of her body, Ranma struggled hard to not drool at the sight. Even the idea of making out with this goddess-like figure made her knees feel like jelly. 

“You look even better you know that?” Eva-chan - No, not Eva-chan, this was more like Lady Eva. And didn’t that make her stomach flutter wildly! - offered with a grin as she openly leered at Ranma.

Ranma blushed at the compliment and looked herself up and down. She was dressed in a gothic lolita outfit of her own. One that matched Lady Eva’s of course. Besides that she also looked like a grown woman too, sporting a respectable height, at least for the notoriously short Japanese, and a figure that rivaled her girlfriend’s. Her bust though stood out the most as it completely blew away any competition. At least in size. 

For a brief moment as she looked at herself just as she had when she’d first seen herself in the mirror after trying the Age-Deceiving Pills Ranma was tempted to use them to look her age from now onwards. It was the same fleeting temptation she’d felt when considering learning illusion or transformation magic. And she’d dismissed it the same way. Whilst all three would have allowed her to appear to age as per normal in defiance of her curse, it would be through a lie. Her curse was still there and her true body would always be that of a little girl. Living a lie of a life was not something Ranma wanted. She was stronger than that!

Of course, such absolutely stunning beauties turned heads left and right as they walked the streets of Mahora but neither woman noticed. The two girls only had eyes for each other.

“Mm, I do love to ruin a white dress, my Ranma, and the way you fill out that dress is the height of temptation to do just that.” Lady Eva told her in a smouldering whisper. “Considering the size of your breasts, I’m honestly surprised they fit in that bodice. But that just makes them stand out even more and make them look even more positively delicious.”

“T-Thank you.” Ranma replied with a blush as she instinctively crossed her arms to cover her breasts a little.

“No need to be embarrassed, my sweet.” Lady Eva said, her words sounding like honey. “You have a truly impressive rack. It is a shame we only get to enjoy it thanks to the Pills we used.”

Was Eva-chan always like this?! She was absurdly skilled with words! Ranma was certain that she’d managed to get an innocent maiden to fall into her hands with them alone in the past. Her girlfriend really was dangerous!

“I guess?” Ranma said, as she desperately tried to think of a way to shift the conversation away, at least a little, from the mortifyingly embarrassing talk about breasts she’d never truly have. “At least this way I’ve escaped from years of back pain.”

Lady Eva chuckled at that and raised her hand expectantly.

Chuckling along, more at her girlfriend’s amusement than her own joke, Ranma clapped her own hand against the raised hand in a high five.

They kept walking aimlessly through one of the Festival’s many fairgrounds in companionable silence for a few minutes after that when a niggling thought caused Ranma to sigh.

“What’s the matter?” Lady Eva asked, concerned.

“I’m worried about Haruna.” Ranma admitted.

“You’re worried about _your sister_ when you are on a date with _your girlfriend_?” The vampire asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“I’m sorry Eva-chan but Haruna got me to promise to explore the Festival together today, but now she’s just up and disappeared.” Ranma explained. “Of course, I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lady Eva reassured her. “Your sister is either still brainstorming whatever nonsense plan Negi cooked up in the Resort or helping him put the cockamamie scheme into practice.”

Ranma nodded in agreement. “So are you getting involved?”

“Chao has bought our neutrality.”

“‘Our’?” Ranma asked, blinking in confusion.

“Well, she promised to not deliberately involve you at least. You can of course get involved if you want. But I’m sitting out.” Eva-chan elaborated, dropping some of the aristocratic air as she did and coming across as sincere instead. “So want to sit out with me? I mean, it’s an appealing offer.” 

A point she accentuated by sensuously flipping her hair and batting her eyes invitingly at Ranma.

“T-That’s a very tempting offer.” Ranma replied, as she gulped. Which was a little painful considering how dry her throat suddenly was.

The couple’s flirting came to an abrupt end however when out of nowhere a troop of nekomimi cosplayers suddenly walked by. At the sign of the catgirls, Ranma immediately tensed and her breathing quickly accelerated.

“Breathe in, breathe out.” Eva-chan said comfortingly as she immediately pulled Ranma to the side and away from the sight that had shaken her up. 

“Here sit down.” The vampire added as she gently pushed Ranma onto a nearby bench. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Ranma said with a shaky nod. “It’s my ailurophobia. It’s not bad enough to make me have a full blown panic attack but even catgirls make me uncomfortable. Even if it’s just cosplay.”

“And you still won’t let me kill Genma?” Lady Eva said, sounding every bit the exasperated noblewoman.

Ranma just shook her head.

“Why?” Eva-chan asked earnestly.

“You know why,” Ranma said offering her girlfriend a wan smile.

Eva-chan just growled in frustration.

Suddenly the couple was interrupted when Sasaki-san ran up to them with a water bottle in hand.

“Here Miss,” their classmate said, offering the drink to Ranma. “Have some. My friend Ranma-san used to get panic attacks sometimes too. And she always said drinking some water helped her distract herself and gather her calm.”

“Thank you,” Ranma said, acting more on rote instinct than anything else as she accepted the bottle and only then noticing that behind the gymnast was Izumi-san and Okochi-san, both offering her comforting smiles. “Thank you, all of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” the swimmer said with a grin as she waved her hand at Ranma. “We’re just glad to be able to help.”

“I gotta ask, are you related to Ranma-san? Are you a cousin or something?” The bubbly gymnast asked. “Because you look like her a little.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea who this Ranma-san you’re talking about is.” Ranma lied with a pleasant smile, surprising herself with her own acting ability.

Sasaki-san pouted at this but nodded. “I guess it was too much to think you were her long lost sister or something.”

“Makie, you do remember that Haruna-san is Ranma-san’s only sister, right?” Izumi-san asked with a shake of head.

“I know, but hey, crazier things can happen!” Sasaki-san insisted. “Besides Ranma-san is adopted so you’ll never know. It could be possible.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you girls, but I really don’t think that’s the case.” Ranma offered with an amused grin.

“Of course it isn’t,” Okochi-san with an apologetic bow. “We’ll be going now. Take care, Miss, and sorry for Makie. She’s excitable.”

“Hey!” Sasaki-san shouted indignantly even as her two friends steered her away after bowing in farewell to Ranma and Eva-chan.

“How typical of our classmates. I bet they’ll tell you all about it later.” Eva-chan said with a laugh like a bell chime after the others had walked out of earshot. 

“I’m sure they will.” Ranma agreed as she smiled, more in appreciation of her girlfriend’s laugh than their classmates’ antics. “I expect Sasaki-san will ambush me the first chance she gets and tell me all about the one woman she met at the Festival that could’ve been my long lost sister.”

“If only she knew, huh?” Lady Eva said with a mischievous grin.

“By the way, are you alright now?” The vampire asked as she pulled Ranma into a one-armed hug, “Still rattled by those cosplayers?”

“I’m okay now,” Ranma assured her honestly. 

Eva-chan looked at her searchingly for a long moment before nodding in acceptance that she was telling the truth.

“Then I guess Neko-cosplay is off the table?” Lady Eva asked teasingly.

That made Ranma snort at the idea that Lady Eva even had such cosplay.

“I-I lost a bet, one time!”

* * *

Later that evening as Ranma, back in her normal form, was walking back to her dorms after the end of her date with Eva-chan, she received a call over the phone from Haruna.

 _“Onee-sama~! Good evening!”_ Haruna greeted cheerily.

“Good evening, Haruna.” Ranma returned with a raised eyebrow. “Where were you all da-”

 _“Don’t have time to chat,”_ Haruna replied, cutting Ranma off. _“Negi-sensei and us are organizing a new ‘Mars Attack vs Mahora Mage Order’ event to cap off the Festival. It’s part of our plan to fight Chao-san. It’s the perfect cover for any fighting we might get into.”_

“Huh, Mars Attack what?”

 _“‘Mars Attack vs Mahora Mage Order’, Onee-sama!”_ Haruna said, sounding amused. _“And you’re going to have to play a part too. We’ve got you registered as a special character, a_ _‘Hero of the Mahora Mage Order‘.”_

“Hero of-”

 _“Yup~!”_ Haruna said, popping the ‘p’. _“The event starts soon. So be ready to play your part. Okay? Bye~!”_

Ranma opened her mouth to ask for more clarifications but unfortunately her sister had already hung up. 

“Haruna~!” Ranma groaned as she facepalmed in frustration at her sister’s antics.

She was out to call the greenette back and demand answers when suddenly Asakura-san’s voice boomed out of the campus’ public announcement system.

 _“Hello everyone~!”_ The demon summoning wannabe journalist said in an enthusiastic voice. _“It’s almost time for the final surprise event for the Mahora Festival. The LARP (live action role-playing) combat game ‘_ _Mars Attack vs Mahora Mage Order’! For those who_ still _don’t know the details, refer to the Festival website on how to get involved! It’s going to be fun, so don’t miss the chance to join in!”_

“The Festival website?” Ranma said distractedly as she opened the browser on her phone and navigated to the aforementioned website to pick up all the information that her sister should have briefed her on.

It was a surprisingly detailed article and Ranma was still struggling to make sense of it when Asakura-san’s voice once more boomed through the campus PA.

_“And ‘Mars Attack vs Mahora Mage Order’ begins in ten… nine…”_

“This is ridiculous~!” Ranma cursed as she continued trying to piece together what the hell Negi-sensei had cooked up.

She was still trying to make sense of what on Earth the whole thing was about when suddenly Saotome Genma appeared around the corner in a ghost-like stance with hands held limp in front of him and his arms slightly bent. His aura was strangely suppressed but he was otherwise perfectly visible but acted as if he was invisible as he made his way towards Ranma whilst maintaining that strange posture.

“Saotome Genma!” Ranma hissed when she’d finally recovered her wits enough from seeing her hated sperm donor to speak, only dimly aware thanks to its angry feline hissing that she had unconsciously summoned Itami. “What are you doing here?”

“How did you see through the invisibility of the _Umi-Sen Ken_ (海千拳, Thousand Seas Path)?” The glasses wearing stocky, middle aged man dressed in a white gi with a white bandanna that covered his head said, sounding honestly shocked. 

“Why wouldn’t I dumbass?” Ranma shot back, barely restraining the urge to just attack the part-time panda even as she subtly layered the surroundings in wards to drive away bystanders in preparation for the inevitable fight. “All it does is suppress your aura. I still have eyes, ya know.”

“Tch, so you’ve fallen so far that you’re blind to battle aura?” Genma said with a derisive snort.

“Or I surpassed the need to overly rely on it in a fight,” Ranma replied with a snort of her own as Itami growled angrily. “Now what the hell are you doing in Mahora?”

“I came to ‘recover’ you, you dishonorable brat.” Genma said with a scowl. “I’ve heard about all the terrible things you’ve done to your mother and my good friends, the Tendos. It is far past time to discipline you for your horrendous behavior.”

“Those psychos deserve to rot in a cell. They, all three of them, assaulted me. That Nodoka woman tried to kill me!” Ranma spat, Itami’s back arched as he hissed furiously and his shadow writhed.

“And she was justified!” Genma shouted back. “You abandoned the Art! How could you do something so dishonorable!”

Ranma’s blood began to truly boil at that. Calling her decision to pursue the Art that truly called to her dishonorable! That was possibly the gravest insult that anyone could level at her. But she nevertheless kept her cool as best as she could, there were still a handful of bystanders in the area. She needed to just wait a little longer.

“But once I get done punishing you, you’ll forget all that magic nonsense and get back to studying the Art like you always should have!”

“That’s it!” Ranma roared, her patience having run out. “Itami! Get him!”

Said projection was already moving, having reacted to Ranma’s emotions long before she gave it voice, and had leapt through the air at the panda as its shadow detached, transforming into a shadowy figure of a male Ranma with his leg stretched out in a high kick.

“Is that all you can manage?” Genma scoffed as he easily deflected both of Itami’s attacks with casual sweeps of his arms. Behind his spectacles, he glared at his child as if to say ‘Is this all?’ 

The projection was not deterred by its initial failure though and continued to press the attack. It lashed out with claw and fang even as its shadow figures leapt into one combo after another. However, despite its magically unlimited stamina allowing it to keep up an unrelenting offensive, Itami was still no match for Genma and he still easily manhandled Ranma’s projection. 

The redhead expected it though. Itami was ultimately a creature forged out of Ranma’s martial arts skill and as talented as she had been, she had never surpassed her sire. So it was no surprise that Genma managed to eventually send her projection flying with a powerful palm thrust.

Even as she noted this whilst finishing summoning her familiars, she couldn’t help but feel irked that he had managed to do so within seconds but she pushed the irritation aside. Her feeble pride at her martial arts skill was outdated anyways. Besides, Itami had done his job and created an opening.

“ _Pluvia Acida_ (Acid Rain)!” Ranma incanted, conjuring a large number of lances of entropic energy above Genma and sent them flying at the horrific man.

Much to Ranma’s annoyance however, despite Itami trying to keep him pinned, Genma used _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement) to easily evade her spell and blur into the space above her as he whipped out a furoshiki (風呂敷, traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) towards her head with a cry of _Goshin Ryūsei Fu_ (護身流星布, Cloth of Falling Stars).

“Oh no you don’t, you stinking panda-phile!” Zero-chan shouted defiantly as she leapt into the path of the cloth and cut it to shreds with the pair of carving knives she was armed with.

“Stay away from Mistress!” Ameko cried out angrily as she was slammed into Genma’s stomach legs first thanks to the sling that Pudding and Suramui had created by joining their arms.

The martial artist had the air knocked out of him as Ameko’s cannonball sent him crashing into the ground. Despite that, he attacked the Slime Sister with a bear hug whilst crying out _Kaichū Hōju Satsu_ (懐中宝珠殺, Crushing Embrace of the Killer Grip). The slime just slipped through his grasp though and with one last smack to the panda’s head thanks to a pseudopod, she leapt away.

“Relying on others’ to fight for you now?” Genma scoffed as he sidestepped a lunge from Itami and smacked his shadow figure’s punch aside. “Pathetic!”

“Itami and my familiars are as much my power as any other spell or technique I possess.” Ranma countered as she sent a barrage of _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ (Magic Arrow, Dark Series) flying at him.

Even with that and Zero-chan and the Slime Sisters joining in on the melee, Genma nevertheless continued to easily dodge around Ranma’s attacks whilst occasionally counterattacking, sending her various minions flying. Though Itami and her loyal familiars just leapt back into the fray undeterred.

“ _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow)!” Ranma incanted. However, instead of shooting her spell at Genma, she had them hitting the ground around him. This summoned dozens of entropic worms that promptly leapt at the panda adding even more combatants to the increasingly chaotic melee.

Despite this, Ranma’s blasted sperm donor barely seemed fazed by this at all.

“You might think that,” he said as he kicked one of Ranma’s entropic worms away even whilst he dispelled Itami’s shadow figure temporarily out of existence with a punch to its chest. “But that’s not true. It’s pathetic and soon others will know that too.”

“I don’t care about what others think!” Ranma spat, even as she cast another _Pluvia Acida_ and sent dozens of fresh entropic lances at the scum she was fighting. “I just want to watch you burn away! I want you to rot like the bastard you are! I want to watch you die like a dog! You and your shitty martial arts school can go die!” 

“The only thing that will die here is your silly hocus pocus nonsense!” Genma shouted back. “Saidaikyū Kijin Raishū Dan (最大級鬼神来襲弾, Ultimate Demon-God Multiple Strike)!”

Flinging his arms wide, the martial artist unleashed a storm of vacuum blades and forced all of Ranma’s minions back. It would’ve left her open for an attack, but Ranma knew this was coming all along. It was only a matter of time that Genma would manage to escape the encirclement she’d trapped him in after all. 

“Itami!” Ranma roared and her projection opened its mouth and breathed out a beam of raw psychic energy at the panda man.

“Wha-” The martial artist cried out, surprised that the projection was capable of a ranged attack, something it gave no indication of until now, and thus did not manage to raise a defense in time. Not that Ranma believed that he could. Not against a psychic attack.

She was not done though. Her temper had been fraying throughout the entire course of this fight and now with her heart pounding and blood boiling, Saotome Ranma screeched to the heavens itself as her magic attacked her sperm donor and unleashed all her pent up feeling.

“ _Spina Putredine_ (Rot Spine)!” Ranma incanted as she poured her pain into the jagged pillar of entropic energy that shot out of the ground and slammed into the crying Genma who had curled himself into a fetal position thanks to Itami’s psychic attack and forced him out of the path of Itami’s beam.

Lifted up into the air and now giving Ranma a firing lane clear of potential collateral damage, she pushed her anger into the _Erugo Radior_ (Corrosion Ray) she shot at him. The beam of entropic energy consumed Genma, causing him to cry out in agony.

“ _Sphaera Ex Putredine_ (Sphere of Rot)!” Ranma incanted, conjuring a sphere of entropic energy that engulfed Genma’s form.

 _Make him go away, make him go away and never return!_ Ranma begged as she took a deep breath. Casting three of her more powerful spells in quick succession was draining in the extreme but Ranma did not regret it.

Instead, she kept at it. Kept casting. 

_Sagitta Senium_ , _Erugo Radior_ and _Erugo Lanceam_ (Corrosion Lance) flew with abandon at the increasingly battered form of Genma.

“ **_DIE! DIE! DIE!_ **” The redhead frothed at the mouth as she felt herself getting lost in her magic, being swallowed by it as the powerful spells weakened something in her, gnawing away at what could only be called… her humanity. 

It felt as if something fragile in her heart shattered. Like a ball of glass smashed into the ground and broke into a thousand pieces. 

“ **_GRAWH_ **!” She howled in agony as her skin bubbled, she lost her balance as her foot collapsed into liquid, her vision disjointed into innumerable perspectives as her body twisted. She grabbed her face, but her hand merged with it as she fell backwards and splattered against the ground. She rolled around, flailing, screaming as her body lashed out.

Tendrils of slime grew from her rapidly growing mass and wrapped around anything and everything around her as she struggled and failed to hold onto anything. She couldn’t focus! Her vision was split between what felt like countless eyes. That anything she touched almost instantly started to bubble and melt away as if scalded by some corrosive substance did not help things.

She could hear her familiars calling out to her but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. There was so much _noise_! Like her vision, it seemed like her hearing had been greatly expanded. She was hearing so much more. Thousands, millions of new sounds that she would usually have just not heard or automatically tuned now flooded into her mind. It should have been overwhelming but mainly it was just confusing.

Ranma's new body

 _“And the secret hero of the Mahora Order, Saotome Ranma-san, has fallen to my secret technique!”_ Chao-san’s voice boomed over the PA suddenly, giving Ranma just the anchor she needed to focus on and regain some sense of what was going on. _“And now she has transformed into_ my _secret weapon, the dreaded Martian Shoggoth! Anyone foolish enough to challenge her will only know defeat!”_

“What the hell is going on!?” Ranma shouted in confusion from a hundred, a thousand different mouths that grew out of what she was quickly realizing was the massive slime mass that her body had become.

“There it is!” A random guy in a cloak and armed with a magical staff shouted as he led a group of similarly dressed LARPers running towards the section of Mahora campus that Ranma’s ever growing bulk was occupying. “Let’s take down that Shoggoth and earn some points!”

This was met with a raucous cheer from his group.

“You lot are not hurting Mistress!” Zero-chan shouted as she was catapulted by the Slime Sisters’ seemingly trademark slingshot maneuver at the LARPers, her blades flashing dangerously.

“Zero! No maiming or killing!” Ranma ordered distractedly as she saw her Doll begin to systematically take down the idiots, soon assisted in the task by the Slime Sisters. “Ameko, Suramui, Pudding, same for you three!”

She was still a little too busy trying and largely failing to figure out what in the world was happening to her to give clearer instructions than that.

“Ranma-san! Can you hear me?” Takahata-sensei asked as he flickered into view a foot ahead of Ranma in an application of _Koku Shundō_ in a completely different direction from the LARPers. “If you can, you need to calm down. Now!”

“What the hell do you think I’m trying to do!?” Ranma shouted back at her former homeroom teacher, hundreds of her pseudopods writhing angrily at the insinuation that she was _trying_ to cause trouble even as her confused mind wandered back to how the art teacher had manhandled her during Negi-sensei’s initial duel with Eva-chan.

“Stay away, just leave me alone!” Ranma screeched in anger, her body reacting to her roiling emotions - Part of her mind was screeching at her to get even with the idiot who had once dared to humiliate her. - and flinging cannonballs of slime at the teacher in response.

He barely batted an eye and using his famed _Kankaho_ technique, he dispersed the projectiles with invisible punches of mixed ki and magical energy.

“Ranma-san, please restrain yourself!”

“Shut up! You’re not helping!” Ranma countered as her body instinctively responded to his counterattack by upping the ante and shooting a barrage of _Erugo Lanceam_ at him.

 _I can unconsciously cast spells now!? What the heck!?_ Ranma thought in alarm even as she watched as Takahata-sensei evaded the high-speed entropic lances through some fancy _Koku Shundō_ footwork.

“I didn’t do that on purpose!” Ranma shouted in denial. “I’m still trying to learn how to control this body!”

“I believe you Ranma-san,” Takahata-sensei replied. “Let me help you. _Shichijou Taisou: Muonken_ (Seven Streak Great Lance Silent Fist)!”

At his shout, he shot seven powerful _Kankaho_ strikes that literally blew holes straight through Ranma’s slime body. Not that it actually hurt her as her body quickly regenerated the loss mass and filled in the holes.

Once whole again, Ranma snarled causing her new mass to quiver as the sound of her own vocalization reverberated through her whole body. “You call that helping me? You just keep attacking me!”

“If I can cause you enough damage, the instinctual portion of your being should become too devoted to regeneration to resist your efforts to control it.” Takahata-sensei explained as he danced around the _Erugo Radior_ beams that Ranma shot at him without thought.

“That’s actually a decent plan,” Ranma had to concede. “Okay, hit me with all you’ve got Sensei!”

“Sorry if this hurts, Ranma-san!” Takahata-sensei warned. “ _Senjou Senzoku: Muonken_ (Thousand Streak Gleaming Arrows Silent Fist)!”

Thousands of invisible _Kankaho_ strikes battered Ranma’s body and riddled it with holes. For the first time since she’d inadvertently assumed this form, she felt physical pain. Though it was a distant, dull thing that felt like little more than when she stubbed her toe.

“Dammit, what the hell are you doing to me, Sensei? I think I’m starting to feel it!” Ranma shouted even as her body suddenly exploded outwards, simultaneously launching a powerful _Sagitta Mixta_ (Mixed Arrows) spell. 

_Sagitta Telam_ (Web Arrow) covered anyone unfortunate enough to be hit in webs of restraining slime. _Equus Calcitrant_ (Horse Kick) sent others flying through sheer kinetic force. _Sagitta Scorpionem_ (Scorpion Arrow) poisoned others and made them lose their last meals. _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ missiles just knocked others out. _Sagitta Senium_ let loose dozens of deadly entropic worms that crawled after the by now fleeing horde of LARPers who had been pestering Ranma throughout the fight with Takahata-sensei.

Speaking of the infamous Death Glasses…

“You got knocked out!?” Ranma shouted incredulously as she saw the teacher leaning against a wall where it seemed he had been thrown into, unconscious. “Who the hell is going to help me control this body now!?”

“I’ll give it a go.” Eva-chan said as she floated over using the power of her flight cloak. “But let’s try a new approach. Attacking you isn’t working. Your instinct to defend yourself is a little too strong.”

“Eva-chan~!” The emotionally unstable Ranma squealed at the sight of her girlfriend before she could get a grip on herself. 

“Uh, yeah.” Ranma said, trying to play it cool despite how her whole body literally glowed red in embarrassment at her loss of composure. “Let’s, um, try something new.”

Smirking at the reaction she’d garnered, the vampire landed fearlessly on top of Ranma’s churning body. 

“Okay, so let’s actually have you try to take control of your body.” Eva-chan instructed, levitating just an inch off Ranma when her clothes and skin sizzled at the contact with Ranma’s body. “Reach inward and see if you can, I dunno, pull yourself in?”

“You’re winging this aren’t you?” Ranma asked even as she tried what her Shishou suggested.

“Even I’ve never had to talk a newly ascended slime-type demon lord through learning how to control their body.” Eva-chan said with a shrug as she ran a hand comfortingly over Ranma’s body, ignoring how her skin bubbled and burned.

“Fair enough.” Ranma said as she felt her girlfriend’s suggestion working and the extreme edges of her body began to pull back, her mass becoming denser and more defined as it did.

“It’s working!” She announced as she halved the area she occupied from two blocks to one. 

“Oh damn, that’s gonna be a pain to fix.” She winced however when she saw the damage her corrosive nature had done to the buildings that her slime had covered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Eva-chan soothed. “I’ve got this!”

With that she pulled out a magical device that looked like a cross between a pocket watch and an old school camera, that she promptly pointed in the direction of a ruined building and pressed the shutter button. Immediately the building and the whole area around it was engulfed in a burst of light and restored to the way it was before Ranma had accidentally destroyed it.

“Temporal magic?” Ranma asked, shocked.

“A gift from Chao,” Eva-chan explained. “She said I’d know when to use it and that it’ll work best on collateral damage. It only works thanks to the magic emitted by the World Tree right now though.”

“She knew this would happen!?” Ranma asked, flabbergasted.

Eva-chan shrugged.

“More importantly~! I have to ask, are you bigger on the inside now?” Eva-chan teased, making Ranma flush as a part of her felt like it was sizzling all whilst the vampire continued to use the device to fix the damage Ranma had inadvertently caused.

“I don’t know, maybe? I could have a dimensional pocket in me or something.” Ranma knitted her brow with a frown, or did the slime equivalent which seemed to equate to the top chunk of her body deforming to take on the shape of a knitted brow as the lower portion imitated a pair of frowning lips. Freaky. “A-And don’t change the subject, Eva-chan! How did Chao-san know this would happen?”

“Haven’t the foggiest honestly. I think she’s a diviner or something. Or mayhaps she really is a Martian from the future.”

“She does use temporal magic,” Ranma thought with a frown as she’d shrunk enough to regain a human shape and Eva-chan gently laid her down on the ground, her head resting in her lap. 

Just one problem. She had accidentally made herself a foot shorter. 

“Dammit!” She cursed as she willed herself back to her regular size. 

“Aw, I liked you tiny.” Eva-chan said flirtatiously as she openly leered. “But shouldn’t you put something on? I mean as much as I enjoy the view, if some random passerby catches sight of my girlfriend naked, I might just have to kill them.”

“Eva-chan~! Stop flirting and help me figure this out!” Ranma shouted as she moved her hands to cover her chest and groin to protect her modesty. “How the hell do I make clothes?”

“Boo, kill my fun. Put my fun in camps why don’t you.” The blonde vampire pouted. “Just think of your slime and clothes and will it be? It’s what I do with my magic when I’m dealing with a difficult dress at times.” 

“It can’t be _that_ simple.” Ranma groused as she imagined herself dressed in the fanciest dress that came to mind and found her skin deforming for a second as part of the slime that was her body now extruded out and formed itself into the dress. It even fit and sat on her body absolutely perfectly.

“It really is.” Eva-chan replied, flipping her luscious locks over her shoulder like a diva. 

“This is convenient as hell.” Ranma noted with a grin as she cycled through a few other outfits, testing the limits of what she could manage and finding none. 

A minute of fun later though she settled on wearing her Mahora uniform. Simple and easy. It would do for now.

“There!” 

“And now we can have all kinds of cosplay makeout sessions.”

Ranma felt sweat - Or was it slime? - trickle down her neck. Considering how it was reabsorbed by her skin, it was probably the latter. “You really are a bit, uh…”

“Horny? Yes.” The gothic lolita huffed and crossed her arms. “I blame all that delicious demonic magic you unleashed. It was simply intoxicating.” 

“Uh, Mistress, Mistress’ Vampire Girlfriend, sorry to interrupt.” Ameko said with a cautious grin as she and the rest of Ranma’s familiars walked over. “But Mistress are you okay now?”

“I guess?” Ranma said with a shrug as she finally got up and was promptly pulled into Eva-chan’s lap, this time in a sitting position. “Besides suddenly becoming a slime for no reason, I’m feeling great.”

“That’s good.” Ameko nodded happily.

“Yeah, ‘cause now we can watch the big climatic fight without worrying.” Zero-chan said as she jumped into Ranma’s arms and pointed skyward where a large blimp with television screens hanging from its sides flew overhead.

Screens that showed Negi-sensei and Chao-san staring each other down atop the blimp in what was clearly a prelude to fight.

“We can’t join in?” Suramui asked, sounding disappointed as she started to turn into a puddle. “I wanna fight more!”

“I’m tired.” Ranma said with a sigh. “So let’s just watch, okay Suramui?”

The slime pouted, but nodded in deference to her mistress. 

“This show better be good.” Eva-chan said with a grin as she leaned her head on Ranma’s right shoulder, her breath tickling her neck and causing the new slime’s whole body to glow bright red. “Or we’ll be doing something else. Something _priv~ate_.”

Blushing even harder at the insinuation, Ranma just nodded. If the fight did turn out to be boring… Well, some hanky panky with her girlfriend did sound like a great alternative.

* * *

“Aw~! Shishou and Shīmǔ are so cute when they cuddle like that,” Chao gushed as she looked at the image projected on a holographic display floating to her side showing her foster parents’ past selves down below in the streets of Mahora.

“They are,” Negi-sensei agreed from where he stood patiently a short distance away. “Judging by what you call them, you know them from the future?”

“Know them? Heck they raised me! I’m Shishou’s number one apprentice, Sensei~” The Chinese girl winked playfully as with a flick of her fingers she sent a pair of _Sagitta Senium_ soaring at the young teacher. 

“You _are_ her apprentice.” Negi-sensei confirmed as he took out the deadly projectiles with a pair of _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis_ (Magic Arrows, Lightning Series) of his own.

“Duh, Great Granddad!” Chao rolled her eyes as a sphere of magical fire swelled in her palm. Activating her Cassiopeia she stepped through time to teleport behind Negi-sense a second _before_ she disappeared.

“Now be a good boy and take a nap!” She fired the blast right into his spine. Sadly as he was engulfed, he warped away. As he reappeared a second later, she clicked her tongue in annoyance when she saw that he was only mildly singed. 

“Tch, using computational spirits to make up for your Cassiopeia’s more primitive targeting?” Chao observed with a twitch of her eyebrow. “I should have given you a jump limit.”

“Yes, how careless of you!” Negi-Sensei frowned as lances of lightning created by a _Iaculatio Fulgoris_ (Lightning Spear Throw), rained down from above. A delayed activation? How sneaky!

“Still, you really shouldn’t forget who's the master of temporal magic here.” Chao countered as suddenly a circle of spikes of entropic energy appeared from the aether and dotted the top of the blimp thanks to the _Naumachia Tribulos_ (Spiny Necropolis) she cast whilst stepping through time. The radiant entropic power of which completely sapped Negi-sensei’s spell of all its strength.

“Thanks for the meal, Sensei~!” Chao blew a kiss at him as she blinked away in time and socked him in the jaw, trying to knock his Cassiopeia out of his grip.

Her cheeky ancestor however held it in a deathgrip as he blinked away as well. 

“Forgetting you built these things was my oversight,” the boy mage retorted, his jaw starting to bruise from the heavy blow. “But yours is forgetting what an equal but opposite force can do.”

“Wha-” Chao said, even as Negi-sensei jabbed her in the stomach with his staff and sent her flying. She had tried to use her Cassiopeia to travel through time to evade the blow but for some reason the attempt had failed.

“Gah, you jerk! You’re using your Cassiopeia to jam mine!” Chao shouted in anger as she grabbed the top of the blimp with a ki enshrouded hand and came to a sudden stop.

“Indeed! Paradox science from the Doctor!”

“That show isn’t even scientifically accurate!” Chao felt like pulling her buns out. Cooling her anger, she decided to up the game. “Alright, I’m going to stop holding back now, Sensei. Try not to get disfigured too badly. It’d be a shame to break your cute face for the future!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“I’ll do more than try.” Chao said with a smirk. “ _Radius Mordax Tempestate_ (C _orrosive Ray Storm)!”_

At Chao’s invocation, dozens of entropic beams shot towards Negi-sensei who to his credit evaded them with aplomb thanks to some impressive use of _Koku Shundō_. It nevertheless kept him off balance though and gave her the time she needed.

“Release restraint, Level One protocol.” And like a light switch, Chao felt fire pour through her veins as magical seals covered her entire body. Her skin looked like boiling magma as it gave off an eerie glow in the dimming daylight. 

“What is that?”

“This suit isn’t just for show, Negi-sensei.” Chao told him with a grin. “Meet my Magical Powersuit Mark VIII. Patent pending. Right now, I’m not just a mage. I’m the very spell itself. Be in awe of my Martian genius!” 

_He doesn’t need to know this was inspired by his antics from Mundus Magicus._ Chao thought as she blurred forward like a rocket, empowered by the blazing power of her natural fire magic and a healthy dose of _Shundō_.

“Eat fire, Negi-sensei!” Chao said as she appeared below the teacher as her arm burst into flames, reshaping it into an axe five times her size she swung it at her opponent and released a torrent of flames that tried to devour the sky as she did so.

 _Damn, damn, damn! Channeling_ Οὐρανία Φλόγωσις (Ouraniā Phlogōsis, Blazing Heat in the Sky) _hurts so freaking much. How much time left? Okay, three minutes before I have to end it or die. You’ve got this, Chao._

Much to her annoyance, her homeroom teacher had managed to completely evade her attack by using _Shundō._

 _How the hell did he get so good with it so quickly!?_ Chao griped even as she blurred in front of her great grandfather’s past self and engaged him in fisticuffs.

Each time she connected with a punch, an explosion bloomed that burned Negi-sensei, but to his credit whatever barrier spell he was using held and he fearlessly met her blow for blow.

 _I know you’re good, Great Granddad, but could you hold still for a microsecond?! You are so not getting any presents after I’m born. I swear!_ Chao fumed about petty revenge as she made to conjure some entropy spheres, holding back a wince as they got finicky due to her currently heightened attunement with the fire element. 

They materialized just fine though but again her ancestor just had to prove how ridiculously overpowered he was and evaded them as they popped into existence around him. All whilst still keeping up with Chao’s physical assault.

“Why are we even still fighting, Chao-san?” Negi-sensei asked as he deflected yet another of Chao’s explosive punches. “We’ve already stopped your plan to reveal the secret of magic by preventing you from occupying the leyline nodes you needed.”

“Because I’m a sore loser and I want to punch you in your Welsh face, Great Granddad. Trust me, I have a deep love of just getting a win on my betters.” Chao openly declared as she tried to trap him in a web of sizzling flames, but he released a gale of wind to blow them out like a candle flame. “That and I can’t let you capture me. If you do, I'm stuck here at least till the next time the World Tree’s power is in full bloom and Shishou will kill me if I’m stuck here so long! Or worse she’ll be forced to travel back in time to fetch me! The punishments for both will be literal hell!”

“Wha-?!”

Negi-sensei was foolishly startled by the admission and Chao exploited it like an utterly ruthless barbarian that was ruthless and bred ruthlessness!

“ _Infernus Roribus_ (Decaying Hellfire)!” Chao said, hitting the boy with her most powerful spell and engulfing him in a torrent of sickly green flames imbued with the Corrosion element. Flames that had devoured Elder Dragons during its testing phase and which she had only toned down just enough to prevent killing him.

Even her exalted ancestor couldn’t withstand that and he recoiled from the unnatural flames, with tongues of the emerald fire licking at his clothing that he struggled to smother with raw magic. Seeing him like this the Chinese girl vaguely contemplated ending it with a nut shot. 

Just for hilarities’ sake and also because Shīmǔ had bet with her that she couldn’t pull it off. 

“I do like that outfit Shīmǔ said she’d get me if I won,” Chao concluded as she kicked her great grandfather in the nuts and explosively launched him off the side of the blimp.

“Well, hopefully I didn’t just kill a great uncle or something.” Chao sighed as she deactivated her suit’s spell channeling systems and felt the fire leave her veins. Her skin was smoking and she tasted copper in her mouth. “Crap, really got to regulate those restrictions better.” 

Ignoring the discomfort though, she turned to a nearby camera and waved.

"Shishou! Shīmǔ! Please remember my thoughtfulness in the future! Also, Chao-sama is the bestest, suck it Earthers!” 

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Shishou’s past self far below shouted up at her. Her new demon lord nature easily allowing her voice to reach her even in the clouds.

Chao just smirked and with one last wave at her foster parents’ past selves, she pulled out and activated her Cassiopeia.

 _At least I didn’t need to use my final ultimate trump card_. Chao thought as she patted the blank book on her supposed family tree that she’d kept on her person should the need for a final distraction proved necessary. The Chao family tree was truly a deadly weapon to behold to those of lesser intelligence. Especially a bunch of hormonal girls curious if they got their white Welsh whale.

Looking down at a recovered Negi-sensei that was flying up as fast as he could to stop her, Chao gave him one last salute before she disappeared in a burst of light as her time travel magic took hold.

* * *

The day after the madness of the last day of the Festival, Ranma found herself called to the Dean’s office.

“Ranma-chan, I imagine you can guess what this is about?” Konoe-sama asked, looking at her sternly.

“You’re formally informing me that I’ve been officially classified as a Demon Lord, aren’t you?” 

The ancient looking man nodded.

“Guessed as much.” Ranma said with a sigh. “Shishou said you would have to.”

Just because she had been expecting this didn’t mean she wasn’t upset. Her becoming a demon lord had been something completely outside her control and had come completely unexpected. And yet she was being faulted for it!? 

She had lost her _humanity_! Not that she actually minded that, which was unnerving in itself since she was fairly sure she should feel at least uneasy about that. But she didn’t… But that's besides the point! The point was that she was the one victim here! Yet she was being persecuted!? 

This was nothing more than a bullshit victim-blaming witch hunt! 

Thankfully, her new nature made it extremely easy to control her facial expressions. Not reflexively changing color according to her moods was harder but something she’d picked up fairly quickly too. So none of her anger showed.

At least she hoped it didn’t. The Dean didn’t react though, so she was fairly sure that she was safe.

“Does this change anything?”

“No, it does not.” Konoe-sama assured her. “You wouldn’t be the first Demon Lord on campus. Not even the first to achieve that rank here, though the last was some time ago. _Your_ ascension however was much more restrained than _that_ occurrence. No one died or was even seriously injured.”

Ranma couldn’t help the frown at that. She had _so_ wanted for that to not be true. At least in Genma’s case. He, out of anyone, deserved it. But sadly besides some serious caustic burns, he had got away largely unscathed.

“My more pressing concern, Ranma-chan, is _how_ did this even happen? For a human to transform into a Demon Lord…” The elderly Dean trailed off, a worried frown matching the sagging lines on his large head. 

Ranma could only shrug. “In all honesty I have no idea. But if you want me to hypothesize… Then I think my Corrosion magic had something to do with it. It probably interacted with my curse in an odd way. Maybe a strange pairing of the two led to, well, my ascension… or descension?” 

“That’s possible I suppose,” the dean said stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Your Corrosion magic eats away at forms and your curse twists yours. Still… I would sooner think any interaction between the two would see the former break down the latter rather than transform you into a slime demon.”

“You got me there, Konoe-sama.” Ranma agreed with a shrug. “As I said, it’s just a hypothesis. I honestly don’t know enough about my curse to be sure. Despite researching it for years, my family and I know precious little about it beyond the basics.”

“Then perhaps you should consider rectifying that?” The old man said with a frown.

“Yeah,” Ranma nodded. “How though?”

“If your research into it has hit a brick wall here, perhaps you need to visit the curse’s source?”

“The Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo?” Ranma gasped. “You think I should pay China a visit?”

“It’s just a suggestion.” The old man hedged. “But your summer holidays are coming up, are they not? It is something to consider at least.”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” Ranma conceded. “You’ve given a lot to think about, Konoe-sama. Might I be excused to ponder on it all?”

Konoe-sama looked at her searchingly, running his hand through his beard thoughtfully as he did. It took him a long moment before he finally nodded.

“Feel free, Ranma-chan.” 

“Thank you, Dean.” The redhead returned as she offered the old man a bow and turned to leave, her mind abuzz with merits and demerits of going to China.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Alright folks, this was whoo! Now this was a fun chapter. Like, legit, the Chao and Negi fight had to be my favorite part. Just the deviation of Chao’s magic, attitude and overall pettiness level was a fun, fun time. Ranma’s ac/dissension has been long in the wings and it was fun to have it finally appear as well. Foolish Genma, you have only dug the hole of Ranma’s power in magic deeper! Mwahahaha! 
> 
> Nameless: So if anyone’s wondering about the chapter title. Let’s just say that everything did go according to plan. Just not the plans of anyone who made an appearance, at least in a manner of speaking, this chapter. Who you might ask? Well, just think of who sent Chao back in time in the first place and you’ll have your answer. I don’t think I can be clearer than that. As to what their plan was? Well, we’ll explain it. Eventually. You just have to wait for the epilogue to get it fully explained.
> 
> Also we’re at the point where my first Negima fic was before I ran out of steam for it… of course I like to think I’ve come a long way since then and how Stu-ish I wrote back then, but hey, you can never forget the classics that started you off. XP
> 
> Nameless: Not that Ranma and Negi ain’t OP af here. But at least they’ve not one-sided characters. At least we hope they aren’t. As long-time readers of our works should know, we like our OP characters whilst trying our best to avoid the Gary Stu/Mary Sue trap with sometimes mixed success. Hopefully, we’ve managed well enough in this fic.
> 
> Oh, for those looking forward to Genma’s fate. Just wait. His full comeuppance is still coming.
> 
> E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	31. Happi Cometh

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirty One: Happi Cometh**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was the last night of the school term and the Saotome sisters had settled in early for the night, intent on waking up early the next morning so as to get the most out of the first day of their summer vacation. 

Well, one of them did anyway.

Sleep had become a strange experience for Ranma since she became a Demon Lord, since she became a slime. Oh, she could still pretend to if she wanted to but where in the past, when she’d been human, when her eyes closed and she slept, her brain rested. Now though when she did the same - Or the analogues of her old human organs that she created out of her slime out of habit did anyway - her consciousness continued to be aware of her surroundings through the rest of her body and her magical senses. She was a slime after all and they did not need to sleep.

So she laid in her bed and pretended to sleep, waiting for Haruna to doze off into slumberland and once she did she got up. Smiling at her sleeping sister across the room from her she walked through their dorm room, completely unhindered by the darkness and settled herself at her study table before summoning the Book of Origins. Without an actual need to sleep, the only smart thing to do was to use the extra hours this gave her to do something productive like study her magic.

Her studying and Haruna’s slumber were both interrupted however by the sound of someone loudly rummaging through their closet. Ranma spun around towards the sound, even as Haruna pushed herself sleepily into a sitting position. Much to her shock, the Demon Lord found a tiny man who was completely bald except for some hair on the sides of his head and a pencil-thin mustache that was dressed in a stereotypical ninja outfit and a traditional Japanese mask made from a folded tenugui (a thin Japanese hand towel) rifling through her and her sister’s underwear drawers!

The tiny man

 _How the hell did he get in without me noticing!?_ Ranma thought incredulously even as she prepared a spell for the intruder. Ever since her transformation into a Demon Lord, her senses, both mundane and magical, had grown exponentially. So how this man managed to get into her room undetected was a genuine mystery.

“ _Sagitta Telam_ (Web Arrow),” she cast, sending a magical arrow that upon impacting with the man transformed into an oversized spider web coated with sticky slime that wrapped around him and pinned him to the ground.

“O-Onee-sama, what’s going on?” Haruna asked through a yawn.

Before Ranma could answer her however, the man flared his ki slightly and in a burst of strength broke free of his bonds. Ranma tried to react, shaping her magic into a second, more powerful binding spell but the imp of a man was quicker on the draw. Waving a pair of panties tauntingly at her - one her own and the other belonging to Haruna - the thief used _Koku Shundō_ (Void Instant Movement) and disappeared.

Cancelling her spell, Ranma turned to the window that had shattered in the wake of the panty thief using it as an escape route and gaped. The man had managed to disappear completely from her detection! Whether he had done so through simply putting himself outside her range or by employing whatever stealth techniques he’d used to evade her earlier, this was incredible. She was a _Demon Lord_ with senses far above the average mage, much less a normal human! Disappearing from her awareness so easily was honestly extraordinary.

“What just happened?” Ranma couldn’t help but ask as she tried to wrap her head around the remarkable feat the man had achieved whilst she absently used one of her newly developed spells, _Tempore Mutationem_ (Time Reversal), to reverse time’s effects on the broken window thus repairing it.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that, Onee-sama?” Haruna asked, putting on her glasses. “Since you were the one awake to see it happen.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Ranma said sheepishly as her sister leveled her with a reprimanding glare. 

“But I can scold you for sneaking out of bed to go study magic in the dark - Again! - later.” Her sister said, crossing her arms. “Why don’t you tell me what just happened?”

“It looks like we got hit by a panty thief,” Ranma said, fidgeting nervously at the prospect of the inevitable scolding her sister was going to subject her to.

“Not Chamo-kun?” Haruna asked with a frown.

“No, not the ermine.” Ranma said with a shake of her head. “He knows better. Besides, this person was a human.”

“Okay,” Haruna nodded, before yawning tiredly. “Why don’t you call Campus Security to let them know what happened, tidy up our wardrobe then go back to bed. And stay there this time!”

“Alright,” Ranma said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your scolding.” Haruna said tiredly as she took off her glasses and put it back on her nightstand. “I’m just too sleepy right now to do it right, so I’ll do it in the morning.”

Ranma winced but nodded.

“Okay,” she said, resigned as she got up to tidy up their shared closet like her sister ordered. “See you in the morning, Haruna.”

“Night, Onee-sama.” Her little sister said as she laid back down on her pillow.

She was out like a light moments later, leaving Ranma to finish cleaning up the mess that the panty thief had left behind. 

* * *

After a scathing early morning scolding from Haruna and a tense breakfast in their dorm cafeteria, Ranma was in a mood for a relaxing walk before she lost her temper. Considering what she’d become, doing that was probably a bad idea.

Unfortunately, fate seemed determined to conspire against her. She was just walking out of the dorm building when suddenly two most unwelcome figures leapt down from the trees of the surrounding park to confront her.

Genma and Soun

“Tendo Soun, Saotome Genma,” Ranma hissed, her skin turning transparent and losing its human consistency for a second as her anger boiled over. **“WhAt ArE yOu DoInG HeRe!?”**

Considering one of the two men was her accursed sire, Ranma’s response, she noted absently, was rather muted. Before her transformation, the mere sight of him would have sent her off her handle either in anger or in a panic attack. Now though, whilst she still felt angry enough to lose control of her form, the emotion was weaker. It was tempered with a sense of superiority that she was now far above the pathetic human that she’d once called her father.

If the two men were intimidated by her inhuman visage and oddly distorted voice or the massive amounts of both killer intent and demonic magic that she was emitting, they didn’t show it instead choosing to fall into fighting stances. They weren’t the only ones getting ready for a fight though as in response to the flaring of her aura, Ucchan, Haruna, Negi-sensei and his whole clique had also made an appearance looking ready to brawl. Even Tatsumiya-san had appeared, clutching what must’ve been her holdout pistol even as she made sure a series of wards went up to keep mundanes from wandering in on what was to come.

This show of force barely got a glance from the two martial artists though who instead kept their eyes firmly focused on Ranma.

“We’re here to put you in your place you ungrateful brat,” Genma, wrapped up in bandages but still surprisingly in his human form today, said as he charged her in a burst of _Shundō_ (Instant Movement). 

“ _Dokuja Tanketsu Shō_ (Deadly Snake-Pit Probing Palm, 毒蛇探穴掌)!” Ranma’s hated sperm donor cried as he struck out with a fierce strike to her chest. It was powerful enough that it blew a hole right through Ranma’s body but she just smirked.

“Try harder,” the slime said in a normal voice, her anger contained at the prospect of giving vent to it and beating the living daylights out of these fools. Something that she happily got started doing by shooting a barrage of _Sagitta Magica, Series Obscuri_ (Magic Arrow, Dark Series) at the shocked man.

Despite his surprise and the close range, the panda still managed to dart back with _Shundō_ even as his partner stepped in front of him and with a cry of _Yama no Seitai_ (Mountain Firmament) used ki to make himself as as durable as a mountain, allowing him to weather the attack easily enough.

Ranma barely registered that, instead looking down at her deformed chest and more importantly at her ruined blouse.

“I liked that top.” She said, annoyed as she filled in the hole in her body. “You’ll pay for ruining it. _Radius Mordax Tempestate_ (Corrosive Ray Storm).”

With that unrushed incantation, she unleashed a storm of entropic beams as befit her spell’s name. They fired from seemingly random directions at the two martial artists, steadily boxing the two in.

“How much of a joke are you?” Ucchan scowled as she watched the men trying not to die. “Both of you got your asses handed to you, humiliated, arrested, and then you come back? I guess _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_ (Anything Goes Martial Arts, 無差別格闘流) is all about humiliation, huh?”

“Silence girl! As if you could understand our strife!” Genma snarled. 

“What? Does your friend know you tried to sell Ranma to my family in marriage when we were kids?” Ucchan added mockingly, making Soun glare at Genma. “All for a single Okonomiyaki cart?”

“What?! Genma, the hell?!” Soun sputtered in indignant shock, looking ready to have an aneurysm. 

“Thanks for the distraction. Not that I really needed it, they were nice and boxed in already but thanks anyways.” Ranma said as she used _Tempore Mutationem_ (Time Reversal) to repair her top whilst simultaneously casting another offensive spell. “ _Impar Deperditionem Hortus_ (Depletion Garden).”

With that everything inside the area where Ranma had herded the two martial artists into with her _Radius Mordax Tempestate_ were afflicted with her _Peredo_ (Corrode) curse, causing it all to rapidly decay.

The first victims to her spell were the two men's clothes. Their gis (a uniform for training in Japanese martial arts) and Genma’s bandages rapidly frayed and quickly fell to pieces under the unnatural entropic forces Ranma had brought to bear. They had ruined her clothes, so it was only fair she returned the favour. The by now tattered remains of their garments were just about falling off their frames as they continued their desperate evasions of Ranma’s still ongoing _Radius Mordax Tempestate_ when they pulled off a surprise.

Pulling a furoshiki (a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) out from a ki created pocket of altered space, Genma used it to suck himself and his partner into yet another of those distorted spaces.

“Are you running?” Ranma asked, blinking in confusion as the piece of cloth fluttered to the ground, landing just outside the area of effect for her _Impar Deperditionem Hortus_.

She had just finished speaking when in a burst of ki, the two martial artists sprung forth from the sealed space created by the cloth. Their brief stint in it having cured them of Ranma’s _Peredo_ curse, the two men launched into a spirited attack.

“ _Kijin Raishū Dan_ (Demon-God Multiple Strike, 鬼神来襲弾),” Genma shouted as he fired off a brace of vacuum blades at Ranma that she let cut her to pieces.

If this unnerved Soun, he did not show it instead carrying through with his own attack as with a cry of _Raiga_ (Lightning Fang) he struck out at Ranma’s dismembered body parts with fists infused with ki conjured lightning.

 **“ThAt TiCkLeS,** ” Ranma taunted as she flowed around the attacks.

 **“hERe LeT mE REtuRn thE FaVoUr!”** She added as she formed a whip like pseudopod out of the biggest mass of her body and lashed out at Soun with such force that it sent him flying a good ten feet before he crashed into the ground inside a sizable crater.

“Soun!” Genma shouted in shock before he shot Ranma a look of furious anger.

Said slime was lazily reforming her body into a single humanoid mass but still took the effort to shoot him a taunting smirk in reply.

This seemed to set the man off and he threw a freshly drawn furoshiki at Ranma. The ki-infused cloth wrapped around her and he used it to pull her towards him, even as he fell into a stance but Ranma had no interest in seeing what he had planned.

With an exaggerated yawn, she shot a dozen pseudopods out of her body. Each was infused with a healthy dose of magic and tipped like a lance. They were thus easily able to tear apart Genma’s little fabric weapon.

“This is getting boring,” Ranma noted in her normal voice now that she’d reformed a human voice box. “I’d like to end this now.”

“This will only end with your de-” Genma began but was unable to finish as Ranma used _Conniveo_ (Blink) to teleport inside his guard where she promptly proceeded to wrap one of her pseudopods around him and tossed him violently away from her.

He landed just about as well as his partner in crime, creating an impressive crater as he crashed into the ground.

“So much for bad rubbish,” Ranma said dismissively as she turned her attention away from the two downed martial artists and looked down at her ruined clothes. Sure, she could emulate the outfit with her slime but seeing it all torn up as they were now thanks to Genma and Soun’s attacks hurt. She’d liked the outfit!

“W-We’re not done,” Soun said as he struggled to his feet.

“Y-You can’t beat us that easily.” Genma added as he too wobbled back to a standing position.

Ranma eyed them both with disdain. “Are you two really that interested in a trip to the hospital before Campus Security sends you to jail? Because I am glad to deliver. Heck, I’ll even stop holding back next round and use the full corrosive power of my body.”

Both Genma and Soun exchanged a wary look but nevertheless exchanged nods and fell into their fighting stances. Ranma shook her head at their foolishness and prepared to teach the two men a lesson they’d never forget. The three never got the chance for round two though as a new arrival interrupted them before they could get started.

“Children, I think that is enough.” An old decrepit voice called out as a small smoke bomb landed a short distance from Ranma. “It’s far too embarrassing to let this continue.” 

Out of the cloud that it created stepped a small elderly man appeared. And it was-!

“The panty thief!” Ranma snarled and wanted nothing more to melt him. “Of course you’d be with these degenerates!”

Happosai

“Ahem.” The diminutive sized man coughed into his palm. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Happosai, these two boys’ master. They had enlisted me to help them, much to my reluctance, to rein in a so-called ‘wayward’ student.” 

“I am not a _student_ of either of these losers.” Ranma bristled at the implication, readying herself to melt the little man for the sheer insinuation. A dozen pseudopods erupting from her body to help her do just that.

“Yes, well, after doing some digging of my own… I found them to be lying through their teeth. If that fight was anything to go by, you Ranma-chan, are no student of _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_. Clearly, you are a mage. A powerful one at that. Among other things.” The ancient looking man said as he gestured to Ranma’s pseudopods. 

“Shishou! That’s the entire problem, please-!” Genma started, but was silenced when his master gave him an annoyed looking glare. 

Happosai wagged a finger, lecturing the man. “The Art cannot be forced on anyone, Genma. The fact you continue to try to do so is a shame to my School.”

The despicable panda flinched as if he’d been struck.

Satisfied that he’d put his student in his place, the panty thief turned back to Ranma and said, “I’ll keep these boys out of your way, Ranma-chan, from now onwards, but before we leave… I would like to see the strength of the one my foolish student drove away. If you would be willing to do so, of course?”

He flashed her a gummy smile and Ranma herself was looking at him for any signs of deception.

After all, this man was the one who _founded_ _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_. Who knew if he was lying or not. 

“ _Fine_.” Ranma agreed tensely, her need for feminine vengeance against a panty thief demanded that she at least break a one or two of his bones. 

That said… So far the old fart seemed to be legit. With how stealthy he was, he could have possibly sneak attacked her during that brawl with his students, but he chose not to. That showed a level of honour that Ranma actually found admirable. Enough so that she felt she could give him this. 

Besides, she was curious how she’d fare against the founder of the _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_. Despite everything, Ranma remained objective enough to recognize how formidable that likely meant the diminutive old man was. A spar with the man would thus be a good measure of how powerful she’d become after her transformation.

“I am so glad you agree, Ranma-chan.” The impish man said as using _Shundō_ he surged forward and threw himself at Ranma’s chest. 

Or more accurately where Ranma’s chest would’ve been as the moment he’d made his move instead of collapsing into a puddle.

Taking advantage of the opening, Ranma fired a _Erugo Radior_ (Corrosion Ray) up at the ancient martial artist sailing over her body.

He however simply used _Koku Shundō_ to dart out of the way of the attack. Not that she minded much. She had fully expected he would manage to do so. The whole thing was really just a trick to buy her time to summon her familiars.

“Suramui, Ameko, Pudding, pin him down. Zero-chan, cut him up.” Ranma ordered as she shifted back into a humanoid shape.

“Yes Mistress!” Her four loyal familiars chorused as they leapt into action, even as Ranma covered them doing so with a _Pluvia Acida_ (Acid Rain) that sent dozens of lances of entropic energy hurtling at Happosai.

“Not going to use that mass beam spell you used earlier?” The founder of _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_ asked as he continued to use _Koku Shundō_ to dance around not just Ranma’s attacks but those of her familiars as well. “Then again, I suppose those would be harder for your familiars to evade and so put more of a burden on you to keep from engaging in unwanted friendly fire. Using these lances instead are easier, aren’t they?”

“How observant of you,” Ranma replied, grinding her teeth in frustration as she found herself unable to hit the agile panty thief. “But if I can’t hit you then I suppose I’ll just have to go area of effect. _Naumachia Tribulos_ (Spiny Necropolis)!”

At her invocation, a deadly circle of spikes made out of solidified entropic energy shot out of the ground to create a ring around the two of them. One of which emerged very deliberately directly behind Happosai and promptly began sapping him of his strength.

“Oh, smart!” He commented idly as he produced a kiseru (煙管, a Japanese smoking pipe) from the folds of his jinbei (traditional Japanese two piece outfit) and used it to casually parry Zero-chan’s flurry of attacks. “These spikes cause entropic damage to anything near them so you can just have your familiars herd me towards them whilst they themselves stay out of the worst of the spikes’ effective radius.”

“You talk too much,” Zero-chan shouted as she swung her two cleavers down at the elderly martial artist in twin powerful overhead strikes.

“You have no finesse, little doll.” He said with a shake of his head as he swung his kiseru in a sweeping motion that deflected the attack with enough force to send Zero-chan flying. 

The Slime Sisters tried to close to keep the pressure on but he was prepared for them.

“And you three are too slow.” He said with another shake of his head as he took a deep breath of his pipe before blowing out a cloud of ki conjured embers at the three slimes that had them crying out in pain as the small sparks burned them.

Seeing her loyal familiars recoil in pain filled Ranma with anger that she poured into the _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow) she sent at Happosai. He raised an eyebrow at the magic arrows as they shot through the slowly dissipating burning cloud, but was otherwise unperturbed as he conjured a series of ki spheres which he tossed absently towards them.

The two projectile attacks met in midair and cancelled each other out in a series of small explosions.

“I’m glad I remembered how to pull off my Happo Daikarin (Happo-Fire Burst, 八宝大華輪) after all these years.” The martial artist said with an amused chuckle as he casually walked away from the spine of entropic energy her _Naumachia Tribulos_ had created. “I wouldn’t have known how to counter that otherwise.”

Ranma felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation at being countered every step of the way and with such ease no less. 

“Counter this, you imp!” Ranma growled as she watched as the recovered Slime Sisters and Zero-chan tried to engage Happosai only to be fended off by more conjured ki bombs. “Itami!”

At her shouted command, the projection manifested from the depths of Ranma’s soul and immediately leapt at her opponent. Its feline claws swiped at the old man even as its shadow tried to engage him in fisticuffs. He easily deflected both with his kiseru and tossed a handful of his ki bombs at them. Unlike her familiars, Itami was agile enough to jump away before they exploded but it was nevertheless forced back and Happosai continued his nonchalant walk towards Ranma.

Again her familiars engaged and again the old man forced them back with the bare minimum of effort, continuing his seemingly unstoppable advance. Itami though still had one card to play and instead of joining in on the attempted dogpile, it moved a short distance in front of Happosai and opened its mouth.

“Shishou!” Genma cried out in alarm at the sight, but that only earned him a glare from the old man.

“Now!” Ranma ordered and Itami obliged by firing its powerful psychic beam at the distracted martial arts master.

Sadly, the diminutive fighter was not as distracted as he seemed and channeling a healthy amount of ki into his kiseru, he swung it at the beam. To Ranma’s shock, he actually managed to do what she’d never seen done before and deflected the psychic attack.

“That’s-”

“Wow! That’s a lot of negative psychic energy there, Ranma-chan.” Happosai noted with a frown as Itami ran out of steam and the beam cut out. “You sure are carrying around a lot of baggage.”

A speechless Ranma could only nod.

She was not however so flabbergasted that she did not react as her opponent tossed out a massive number of his ki bombs. Most detonated around him in small explosions that forced Itami and Ranma’s familiars back, but the most powerful were sent flying towards _her_ through the gaps in her guard that their evasions created. However, she saw the bombs coming and shot pseudopods out of her body like lances that intercepted them midair.

Despite the successful interceptions, they exploded with formidable force. They should have sent Ranma flying, but she simply had tendrils shoot out of her legs and root themselves into the ground. The blasts sent her upper body bending backwards unnaturally but that wasn’t a problem for a slime and even as she righted herself, Ranma counterattacked.

“ _Sphaera Ex Putredine_ (Sphere of Rot)!” 

A orb of entropic energy surrounded Happosai for a second before he blasted a way out with one of his ki explosions, though even his brief stint in it had left him looking worse for wear as seen by the frayed look of his outfit and the worn look on his features.

“Phew! That was a close one.” Hoppisai said as he landed and wiped his sweaty brow. “I must say, Ranma-chan, you are one devious little demon lord in the making. I think you shaved off a few years from my lifespan, young lady.” 

He let out a small laugh as he wobbled where he stood before planting himself more firmly. 

“Though it seems experience and genius gained me a draw this day. I’m almost frightened of what you could possibly do in a year's time, let alone if you make it to my age!”

“You’re calling the spar?” Ranma asked, incredulously. 

“I don’t see why not? If I hazard a guess, you’ve run out of things you can throw at me and I’m pretty sure I can’t actually hurt you what with that body of yours.” Happosai said with a shrug. “Considering that, if we did continue it would just end up being a battle of attrition. One that I’m fairly sure we both know who would win.”

Ranma nodded in agreement. For all his skill, Happosai was _old_. He might be spry but there was no way he could keep up in the long run with her, not when she was so much younger than he was. Especially not when she wasn’t even human anymore and thus not as susceptible to fatigue as he was.

“Very well. A draw it is.” Ranma allowed, satisfied with the knowledge that should this fight have been allowed to reach its natural conclusion, she'd have emerged the victor. 

She emphasized her concession by dispelling the still standing entropic spikes and dismissing her familiars. Something which she noted caused the old man to breathe a sigh of relief.

Noticing her attention, Happosai offered her a grateful smile before turning to look at his two students with a weary look on his dirtied face. “Alright you two, we’re leaving. Let’s not trouble these lovely ladies by forcing them to stare at your mugs for too long. They may punch them.”

The two grumbled, harsh words coming from under their breath directed at their teacher. 

As they were heading off, vines, roots and trees suddenly erupted from the ground, attempting to strike at Happosai.

The old master dodged the death traps with ease, even after being worn out from their spar. 

Ninomiya-sensei

“Happosai!” The scream of utter rage, hatred and bloodlust threw Ranma for a loop as she turned to see Ninomiya-sensei stalking into the clearing like a demon possessed. 

Magic radiated from her body as her eyes looked dead set on ending Happosai’s life from how much killing intent she was directing at the diminutive martial arts master. 

“How dare you show up here, you blasted little man! I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to me!” She roared somewhat incoherently as the earth rumbled as more plant life rose around her. Each of the new plants she summoned lashing out at Happsai with deadly intent.

“Ah… so this is where you ended up.” He said, sounding deeply saddened even as he casually evaded the murderous foliage. “My dear, I… I never intended for your condition to end up like this. I did try my best to help you.”

“Liar! That’s all men like you do, lie lie lie!” Ninomiya-sensei screamed in rage as her aura intensified even more. 

Ranma had never seen the new Sensei look so manic. 

From what she had seen from her own fight with him, Ranma hadn’t expected the old man to be so fast. Sure he’d demonstrated impressive use of _Koku Shundō_ but he’d only used it sparingly and instead mainly relying on more mundane evasions. Now though he surprised everyone, especially Ninomiya-sensei, as he used the technique to flicker his way around the forest of plants out to kill him. He reminded Ranma of nothing more than a monkey as he swung from branch to vine as he steadily advanced on the druid.

Vines struck like vipers to ensnare the older man, weaving around him like a spider web. Heavy tree branches swung at him with enough force to shatter bone and crater the earth. Various flowers spat clouds of poisonous pollen. Cacti shot thousands upon thousands of spines. Ninomiya-sensei unleashed a veritable maelstrom of botanical violence in a bid to kill the founder of _Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū_. Yet somehow the impish pervert weaved through all the attacks like a ballerina. 

He landed on Sensei’s shoulders, his fingers pressing into her neck, left arm, temple, and right shoulder in quick succession. Points that Ranma recognized as key pressure points. With each poke of his fingers, Ninomiya-sensei screamed.

“What are you doing to my colleague!” Negi-sensei demanded as he ran towards the older teacher who had now collapsed onto the ground in an undignified sprawl.

“Simply temporarily cut off the flow of her ki,” Happosai said as he leapt away. “Without it she won’t be able to keep up her attacks.”

As if to prove his point, he gestured to the abruptly stilled forest of killer plants that surrounded him.

“N-No!” Ninomiya-sensei called out as she struggled to her feet. “I-I refuse to lose!”

She looked different though. Somehow cutting off her ki had caused the shapely teacher to regress into a child and her clothes were now too big for her. Far too big. Her dress was never meant to be worn by the narrow shoulders of a child, shoulders even smaller than Ranma’s own, and much to the horror of everyone slipped right off her body as Ninomiya-sensei staggered towards Happosai.

 _Wait… Why does this child-like form look like it’s her true form._ Ranma pondered. _I wonder…_

Giving into her curiosity, Ranma tapped into her Origin sight to see if she could unravel the mystery that Ninomiya-sensei presented.

 _She was sickly as a child and Happosai ‘treated’ her by subjecting her to a pressure point technique that turned her into an energy vampire!? And now she can only look her age if she has a healthy diet of energy. Damn, I can totally empathize with that._ Ranma thought, recognizing the parallel with her own Jusenkyo curse. _Holy crap! I can totally see why she’d hate Happosai for dooming her to a fate like that. Lucky for her learning to become a druid meant she could commune with plants and siphon the life energy she needs from them rather than people, otherwise…_

Ranma shuddered to think what having to feed from people would’ve done to the fundamentally kind-hearted Ninomiya-sensei.

“Ninomiya-sensei!” Negi-sensei cried out in alarm at Ninomiya-sensei’s zombie-like determination to avenge herself against Happosai even as Konoka-san shouted for someone to grab something for the shrunken teacher to cover herself.

Happosai frowned at this but nevertheless turned his back to it all.

“Goodbye my dear, I wish you a happy life.” He said, even as tears of what Ranma guessed were regret shimmered in his eyes and he threw down a smoke bomb.

It threw up a cloud of obscuring smoke around him and his students and once it dissipated, there was no one there.

Only Ninomiya-sensei’s anguished wails of suffering filled the clearing as the rest of them just looked at each other, not knowing what to do. 

* * *

**Omake: Hinako’s revenge**

“Must we do this?” Happosai said in tired exasperation. “This is the _tenth_ time we’ve done this!”

“Yes!” Hinako-chan said with a growl. “I will not rest until I get my vengeance! I _will_ win this time!”

Happosai sighed but nodded as they both moved to either side of the empty field that they had chosen for their latest duel. 

_At least she’s agreed to being civilized about this now._ Happosai thought as he turned to face the young woman. Her seeking him out incessantly for duels to defeat him was a great improvement over her just ambushing him at random in a bid to kill him. It was why he entertained her. That and his continuing regret over putting her in her predicament in the first place.

“Ready?” Happosai asked as he fell into a stance and received a nod in return.

At her acknowledgement of the start of their duel, the short statured martial arts master used _Shundō_ to charge towards Hinako-chan. 

She was ready for him though and raising her hand skyward in what looked like supplication, a wall of massive, intertwined trees shot out of the ground in front of her. Switching to _Koku Shundō_ , he leapt back before he slammed headfirst into the wooden barrier. 

Of course, this wasn’t the end to what Hinako-chan had up her sleeve. Oversized, exotic looking flowers sprouted out of the bark of her woody barrier and all across the field and began pumping clouds of sickly looking green pollen into the air.

“What is this?” Happosai said, curiously as he pulled a tenugui and infused it with ki, wrapped it around his face to transform it into a makeshift gas mask. It wouldn’t be anywhere close to 100% effective but it should help at least slow down the effect of the mysterious pollen.

“You’ll see,” Hinako-chan said as she literally stepped through her wooden barrier as she snapped her fingers, causing a forest of saguaro cacti to grow all over the field. “ _Thousand Needles_!”

“That’s just overkill!” Happosai shouted as he used _Koku Shundō_ to evade as best as he was able whilst he drew his kiseru to deflect what of the spines he could not manage to dodge.

“Nothing is overkill in the name of my vengeance!” Hinako-chan shouted dementedly.

Happosai shook his head in disappointment and conjured a dozen of his _Happo Daikarin_ bombs with his ki and tossed them around him, using their explosions to clear some breathing room.

Sadly, again Hinako-chan seemed to expect this.

“Whomping Willow, break him!” Hinako-chan shouted as a massive tree sprouted _inside_ the space Happosai just cleared, with a massive wooden limb already cocked back.

“Shi-” Happosai said even as the massive branch slammed into him.

He used his kiseru to block it somewhat but even with infusing a sizable chunk of his ki into it, it was useless and it snapped, allowing the massive branch to punch him with almost full force. Enough to send him crashing into the ground, cratering it. He tried to use _Shundō_ to escape but his age caught up to him and he was a second a little too slow, and before he could another heavy branch slammed into him forcing him deeper into the crater his initial meeting with the ground had created, making it even deeper.

It was only when the tree swung back for a third punch that Happosai finally managed to use _Shundō_ to escape the beating.

 _That doesn’t make sense. I shouldn’t be_ that _out of shape._ Happosai thought and then he noticed the thick cloud of pollen that now enshrouded the whole field and he realized what was going on. _That pollen! It’s incapacitating me somehow!_

Just as he came to this realization, Hinako-chan summoned yet another of her Whomping Willows right in front of him. Again he tried to use _Shundō_ to get out of its range, but again his ki moved too slowly to do so and he was hit with a powerful one-two punch before the technique finally kicked in.

“I yield,” Happosai said as he dropped out of the _Shundō_ induced high speed movement and collapsed to his knees. “This old body of mine can’t take another beating like that.”

“You-! You _threw_ that fight!” She accused him, pointing that finger of hers as it trembled from her fury. Honestly, it was a surprise she hadn’t gone bald yet from all that anger and stress. 

Of course only a few could pull off the bald look. Himself being a prime example. 

“What? Of course not! You won fair and square. Honest.” He flashed a gummy smile as he staggered to his feet. 

“I, that, you-! You!” She glared as if trying to understand. Until it dawned on her and she slumped to her knees in shock. “I, I won? I… Won.”

“Once more, are you satisfied?” He asked her, walking over, being _very_ careful to avoid the Whomping Willows, as she tried to rationalize her well earned victory. 

“I feel so… so hollow.” Hinako confessed, her body exhausted after the weight of her long sought vengeance left her. 

Happosai sat next to her, hands folded in his lap. “And that’s how revenge usually works, my dear. Getting it rarely amounts to much. Oh, people think it will bring some closure, but without something to point all that hate at… aimlessness is all that remains of it.”

“That’s… fair.” Hinako nodded and got to her feet. She walked off, a limp in her stride even as she absently dismissed her summoned plants.

“Wait!” He called out to her, getting the exhausted woman to look at him questioningly. “Have you eaten yet?”

She gave him a look as if he was a loon. Ha! Jokes on her, he had mastered getting such a look!

“It’s evening and a legitimate question. So? Have you eaten yet?” 

“I have not.” She tersely replied. 

“Well, let’s head over to the Tendos. That brat owes me a meal.”

It felt like an eternity to Happosai until the young woman nodded and he clapped his hands. 

“Excellent! I haven’t had a family dinner in a long while. Hopefully it won’t be too awkward. I swear his daughters are the strangest!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Phew, that was a heck of a chapter! Happosai, the grand pervert himself, has entered the scene with an explosion! Or panty theft, as per tradition! It seems his students had been telling him tales in hopes of reeling Ranma in after their humiliation, but the old perv was a touch too smart to be fooled by his moronic students. Hope the fights were fun, it was great showing off Ranma’s new form and how she’s adjusting to her Demon Lord status. 
> 
> Nameless: So, we didn’t elaborate on Ninomiya’s history with Happosai much because frankly it’s not relevant to the plot. Just consider her confronting the imp as something of a nod to Ranma!canon or an Easter Egg and let it be. If you’re curious about it then go research it.
> 
> On another note, Ranma’s disinterest in Genma now… That might seem anti-climatic but we think it's fitting for Ranma now that she’s become what she is. Besides, being essentially dismissed and forgotten is a fitting punishment in its own way.
> 
> E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	32. An Angry Wild Horse

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirty Two: An Angry Wild Horse**

**Beta:**

* * *

“ _Kage Bunshin no jutsu_ (Shadow Clone technique),” Nagase-san said with a whisper, conjuring a half dozen clones as she led them in a charge at Ranma.

“That’s not gonna be enough Nagase-san,” Ranma commented as she absently parried Inugami-kun’s determined hand-to-hand attack. With his hands transformed into claws they were a lot more deadly than usual but nothing the set of pseudopods she’d grown out of her body couldn’t handle. “You’re not the only way who can make clones.”

Basically what Ranma is doing when she makes her 'clones'

As she said this she shot a dozen blobs out of her body that transformed into clones of herself as they landed in front of Nagase-san. Though perhaps clones were an inaccurate descriptor of these detached parts of her body, since Ranma’s consciousness was diffused between them. There was no separation in awareness between them at all.

“Holy crap! What can’t you do now!” Inugami-kun whined as he was forced back by a particularly fast swing from one of Ranma’s pseudopods and her clones engaged Nagase-san.

“No idea,” Ranma said with a shrug as she split her main body in half, the half with the pseudopods advanced on Inugami-kun as her newly detached body walked to the side of the sealed training ground they’d commandeered for their spar to relax. “Still learning what this body can do.”

“Damn! That’s so unfair!” Inugami-san growled as he struggled to keep up against the tentacled Ranma-body he was facing.

“Life’s unfair,” Ranma said from her main body as she offered him a teasing wave.

“Indeed,” Nagase-san said as she leapt away from the losing fight against the group of Ranma-bodies she and her _Kage Bunshin_ were fighting, tossing a barrage of kunai and shuriken at the brawl. “ _Bakusa Bakuenjin_ (Binding Chain Eruption)!”

At her invocation, her projectiles exploded with enough force to completely destroy the whole bunch of clones. Both Ranma’s and her own.

“Good move, Nagase-san.” Ranma said with a nod. “Hope you can do as well against this. _Sagitta Senium_ (Decay Arrow).”

This sent a dozen arrows that impacted the ground around the kunoichi that threw up a cloud of dust from which a dozen worms of deadly entropic energy leapt out at Nagase-san.

“This is indeed quite a challenge.” The kunoichi said as she drew a kunai in each hand and she desperately tried to fend off the attacking worms.

“Hey, can we join in too?” Akashi-san said as she and Ku Fei-san walked into the clearing that served as the sealed training ground.

“And how did you two even know about this?” Ranma asked, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

“Kaede told me about it,” Ku Fei-san said. “Ku Fei told Yuna.”

“And we decided to join in.” Akashi-san elaborated. “So can we?”

“Okay, so even more people are joining in.” Ranma puffed out her cheeks, making them balloon. “I have no objections I guess...” 

“Nice, alright. I have a few new bullets and spells I wanted to try out. So it works for me.” Yuna-san said with her usual cheerful tone. Seriously, how much energy could one girl have? 

Ranma twitched and split another two clones off her body and sent them to attack Akashi-san and Ku Fei-san.

“Ah! Ranma-san strong, so Ku Fei really eager for fight~” The Chinese exchange student sang out, bouncing on the soles of her martial arts slippers as the Ranma-body that Ranma had sent her way closed with her, shooting pseudopods out at her at high speed in a bid to tear her apart.

How could anyone be so enthusiastic about a fight? These two honestly seemed to have enough energy to power a third-world country or something. 

“Alright, but I’m still going to hold back. I don’t want to hurt you guys too bady.” Ranma said as her body engaging Akashi-san waited for the other girl to make the first move.

“Oh? Those are fighting words if I ever heard them.” Akashi-san said as she spun her magic pistols with amazing dexterity before opening fire. The Ranma-body opposing her returned fire with a barrage of magic arrows, but the basketballer just used her impressive athleticism to dance around them. 

The redhead smirked as she split two more of herself into existence from her main body. She needed to replace the body that Inugami-kun had finally defeated and another to deal with Nagase-san as she finished off the _Sagitta Senium_ worms that had been holding her off till now.

“I hope you’re prepared to lose. Slimes don’t really get exhausted!” Ranma helpfully informed them as all her clones fired off a few _Sagitta Senium_ , just to keep them dancing to her tempo in the fight. 

“Boastful, aru?” Ku Fei-san tilted her head as she used a ki-infused fist to punch one of the _Sagitta Senium_ worms back into non-existence. 

“Yeah, I’m sure Eva-chan loves to hear that~!” Akashi-san giggled as she fired off several rapid shots at the Ranma-body she was fighting who blocked them with a set of barriers.

“How can you keep track of fighting all of us at the same time?” Inugami-san shouted with irritation as he evaded a barrage of _Sagitta Senium_ from his new opponent. 

“I just can,” Ranma said with a shrug. “Though Nagase-san! Why is it that you invited Ku Fei-san without consulting me first?”

“The more the merrier?” The kunoichi asked as she struggled to keep up with the Ranma-body she was fighting as they both kept creating clones and engaged in a mass scrum. “Besides, you’re a Demon Lord, Ranma-san. We need the quality of quantity to even match your abilities and make this spar fair.”

Ranma just grinded her teeth together in irritation.

Oh that sneaky little-! Right, kunoichi… 

Sadly before she could chide the taller girl for her presumption, yet another group of their classmates entered the training ground. Turning towards Ayase-san, Nodoka-san and Haruna, she shot them a glare.

“Let me guess, you heard from Haruna about this spar and you three want to join in as well?”

“Yep.” “Yeah.” “Pretty much, Onee-sama.” 

“Then prepare yourselves! For the _Demon Lord_ shall show her-” 

“Tentacles!” Haruna said with a teasing smirk.

Ranma’s eyebrows twitched as she split off yet another pair of bodies and sent them to engage Ayase-san and Nodoka-san, even as she used _Conniveo_ (Blink) to teleport her main body next to her sister who she proceeded to drag aside. 

“ _Haruna_ ,” she hissed angrily even as bursts of lightning and fire behind them indicated that Ayase-san and Nodoka-san had gotten going. 

“Are you angry about that joke?” Haruna said, wary of Ranma’s anger.

“A little,” Ranma confessed. “But mainly I’m upset that there’s suddenly so many people! Why the hell did you drag your fellow Library Explorers into this?”

“Uh, it just slipped out?” Haruna tried, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“Is that so?” Ranma said, her eyes narrowing. “Then I guess I forgive you.”

“Really?” 

“Yes, but you’ll be paying for it. All of you will.”

“We will?” Haruna asked, gulping nervously.

“Oh yes, Haruna.” Ranma said as she wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders, lifted her up and tossed her towards the center of the training field.

“O-Onee-sama! Forgive me!” Her little sister shouted as she tumbled to a stop.

Ranma just glared at her sister and shot a large mass of her body into the ground through her feet and had it burrow underneath the clearing.

“You wanted tentacles, Haruna? You’ll get tentacles!” Ranma shouted as she had the mass she’d sent underground earlier surge up to the surface. 

The ground of the clearing shattered as Ranma’s body pushed it out of the way and began lashing out at her opponents with hundreds of tentacles.

“And now she brings out the tentacles! Haruna, why did you suggest that?!” Ayase-san screamed as she sent a burst of lightning at the writhing tentacles as a few of the girls looked frightened by them. 

“It was a joke!” Haruna squealed in fright. 

“Words have consequences!” Ranma said with a cruel laugh as a group of pseudopods caught Akashi-san and began coiling all over her body.

“Eek! Get them off! Get them off!” The magical gunslinger shouted as Ranma had her pseudopods pull her into a spread eagle position.

“Oh god, she’s becoming all evil demon lord now! Onee-sama, stop taking lessons from Eva-sama!” Haruna whined as she sent wave after wave of her golems at the growing forest of tentacles. 

“Keep Eva-chan outta of this!” Ranma shouted back as she watched in satisfaction as Inugami-kun was caught off guard by one of her pseudopods forming behind him and whacking him across the back of his head and into unconsciousness. “This has nothing to do with her!”

“You sure?” Ku Fei-san said as she slipped over an especially thick layer of slime that Ranma secreted under her feet and was caught by a bunch of her pseudopods. “‘Cos this remind Ku Fei of things she see you want to try with girlfriend.”

“I do not!” Ranma said, stomping the feet of her main body in anger. 

“Anime Haruna show Ku Fei lie to me.” 

“Haruna!” Ranma growled, shooting her sister a glare before shooting her with an entropic beam with her _Erugo Radior_ (Corrosion Ray) that knocked her into unconsciousness.

“I think we’ve poked the dragon,” Nagase-san said as she desperately fought a running battle against a dozen Ranma-bodies. “Ayase-san, Nodoka-san, I think we need to retreat.”

“But the others?” Nodoka-san asked, as she used _Apes Igniferae_ (Crimson Bees) to fire wasp-like flaming projectiles to fend off Ranma’s attacks.

“I doubt she’s lost it enough to actually hurt them,” Ayase-san replied as she used _Genus Fulminis Draconem_ (Descent of the Lightning Dragon) to do the same, using her conjured dragon shaped lightning to fry anything Ranma sent anywhere close to her. “We’ll come back to pick them up once she’s calmed down.”

“There will be no escape!” Ranma shouted dramatically, giving in to her anger over the situation. “ _Radius Mordax Tempestate_ (Corrosive Ray Storm)!”

Hundreds of entropic beams shot down upon the training field from on high, blasting it apart and leaving everyone, save Ranma herself, unconscious.

Seeing the wasteland she’d created and her downed opponents, Ranma smirked and she reabsorbed all the parts of her body she’d detached from her main mass. She waited till she was done before she cast _Tempore Mutationem_ (Time Reversal) on her unconscious opponents to heal and revive them.

“That’s what you lot get for pissing me off!” Ranma said with a huff as they all returned to the realm of consciousness, looking at her with terrified awe.

Haruna opened her mouth to say something but Ranma was not in the mood to listen and so used _Conniveo_ to teleport away.

* * *

As Ranma left, all at once, everyone turned to Haruna with a look that demanded an explanation. 

“Okay, well, you see Onee-sama is kind of a loner. I usually have to drag her to more public events.” Haruna said as she twiddled her thumbs and sported a sheepish smile. “And since she isn’t a social butterfly like myself, I thought to maybe bring everyone here to get her to be more sociable. I mean, fighting just brings us together, right?” 

“Wow… she’s got issues.” Kotarō-kun commented with all the subtlety of a Mack Truck. 

The girls turned as one to him, giving him the evil eye at the insensitive comment. 

The boy must have realized this himself as his dog ears went flat on his head and he bolted as if his life was on the line. 

Of course it was in a way, but he shouldn’t have run from the coming retribution! 

“We’ll go take care of him.” Yuna-san said as she jumped to her feet. “Hey, Ku Fei. Come with me, I’ll need a second to hold him.” 

“Yes, we go punish silly dog boy.” The martial artist agreed as she raced off into the forest after Kotarō-kun.

“Hey, wait up!” Yuna-san said as she too broke into a sprint.

 _How the hell do they manage that over this uneven ground!?_ Haruna wondered idly as she looked at the torn up earth of the training ground. _Onee-sama really did a number on this place, huh?_

“Uh, so, do we go find Ranma-san to apologize?”

“I probably should,” Haruna said with a sigh. “I’ll need to do it for the tentacle joke too. I know Onee-sama is sensitive about that.”

“And you still made that joke?” Nagase-san asked, shooting her an accusatory glare.

“Hey, usually Onee-sama takes it in stride.” Haruna said, raising her hands defensively. 

“ _Usually_ ,” Yue emphasized. ”You should’ve seen how high strung your _sister_ was when we showed up, even if the rest of us didn’t. Considering that, should you really have made a joke she found sensitive?”

“No,” Haruna said with a shake of her head. “Which is why I need to go apologize.”

“We’ll go with you,” Nodoka said, coming over to squeeze Haruna’s shoulder comfortingly. 

Yue and Nagase-san both nodded in agreement to that as well.

“Okay, but let me go first okay?” Haruna said with a resigned sigh. “We don’t want to set Onee-sama off again.”

* * *

“I just cannot believe her, you know?” Ranchan said as she fiddled with a twig, her slime making it bubble and hiss as it dissolved. “She knows I don’t like crowds. It's why Chisame-san and I get along. All these parties and feel good times, they try my patience at the best of times and piss me off otherwise.” 

“Well, you know the others don’t mean any harm by organizing those things.” Ukyo reminded her best friend even as she warily looked around the clearing behind their dorm building where they were talking and fought to suppress the wince as everything around them decayed at a hyper accelerated rate due to Ranchan’s anger. Plants were withering, dying and rotting away into nothingness in minutes. Heck, even the soil they were standing on was losing its rich brown color and transforming into barren sand right in front of her eyes. 

The kind of wasteland Ranma was creating

“We’re at the time of our life where having parties and hanging out with friends is the norm.” Ukyo pointed out, but blushed and waved her hand frantically. “There’s nothing wrong with being introverted though! It’s just who you are. I’m sure they’ll take it easier on you if you just tell them that.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Ranchan joked.

“I’m not your secretary, Ranchan.” Ukyo said, sticking her tongue out playfully. 

“Just joking,” Ranchan said with a giggle. “But seriously how can they not know I hate crowds? I’m bloody obvious about it. I mean, next to Chisame-san I’m the second biggest loner in our class! And it’s only because my sister, best friend and girlfriend are all my classmates that I’m not number one!”

“You’re exaggerating.” Ukyo snorted and shook her head. “Besides, being so close to so many of your classmates doesn’t exactly make you seem like a loner to people. Then there’s how you are always together with us ‘cos we train together.”

“Okay, you might have a point there about the first bit,” Ranchan conceded as she collapsed into a high backed chair that looked suspiciously like a throne she’d made out of her own slime. “But I always split off from everyone to train privately with Shishou when we train.”

“Yeah, and your magic is radically different from everyone else’s, so everyone probably assumed she was giving you personalised instruction.” Ukyo said with a roll of her eyes at her best friend’s inability to admit she’d overreacted. “Besides, since Eva-sama is your girlfriend now, they probably thought you two were off doing all kinds of romantic things in those separate training sessions or ‘training sessions’.”

The brunette wiggled her brow and held back a snicker at the response she was given. 

“But we weren’t dating then!” Ranma said, her whole body, her throne included, glowing a bright red in embarrassment.

“You think our classmates care about details like that?”

“Kuonji-san is correct, you know.” Nagase-san said as she literally dropped down from one of the still standing trees in the clearing Ranchan had greatly expanded. “Most of our classmates wouldn’t care.”

“Come on! What now? A cupcake party?!”

“Actually, we came to apologize.” Haruna-san said as she pushed through the foliage at the head of Ayase-san and Nodoka-san to enter the clearing.

Adorably, Ranchan just blinked at them in confusion.

“I’m sorry about the tentacle joke earlier, Onee-sama.” The greenette explained.

“And we’re sorry for butting into your spar like that.” Nodoka-san said with a bow. “We didn’t mean to push your buttons like that, Ranma-san.”

Ukyo had to suppress her giggles as a still rather shocked Ranchan just nodded in acceptance.

“Say something, Ranchan.” Ukyo urged her best friend when she didn’t seem willing to reply.

“Uh, it’s alright.” Ranchan said after a moment. “I mean it was my fault too. I should’ve made it clear that I didn’t want any more people joining in. I’m also sorry that I overreacted.”

“Apology accepted, Onee-sama.” Haruna-san said, pulling her sister into a hug that Ranchan returned. “No hard feelings.”

“None,” Ranchan confirmed.

The tender moment was interrupted when suddenly the alarm on Ukyo’s phone rang out in a goofy jingle. 

Startled, everyone looked at her.

“Ucchan, you have something planned?” Ranchan asked curiously.

“No,” Ukyo said as she pulled her phone out with a blush. “That’s just the alarm I set to let me know that dinner is ready in the dorm cafeteria.”

“Why would you have an alarm set up for that?” Ayase-san asked, sounding confused.

“Well, I’ve been helping out in the cafeteria lately.” Ukyo explained. “I’m not on shift today, but I’ve set the various dining times as daily alarms. Since they are, ya know, the service deadlines for the kitchen staff.”

“Guess that means you’ve decided to expand your culinary repertoire?” Haruna-san asked with a knowing grin.

“Yeah,” Ukyo nodded. “My family runs an okonomiyaki business, but I want to expand my options and that means I’ve got to be more flexible in what I can cook well.”

“I’m sure you’ll be an even better chef than you already are.” Ranchan said as the others also voiced their vote of confidence.

Nodoka-san had just said hers when her stomach growled.

“N-Nodoka!?” Haruna-san asked, looking at her quiet, well-mannered best friend in shock.

“I’m starving,” the bibliophile admitted with a blush.

As if that was a cue of some kind, everyone else’s stomachs, sans Ukyo’s and Ranchan’s, growled too.

“I guess we all are,” Nagase-san said, concluding with a laugh.

“Dinner?” Haruna-san asked, looking at her sister.

“Sure,” Ranchan said as she reabsorbed her throne into her body and led their little group back to the dorms for their evening meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, escalation fights, the fights where it snowballs and turns into a shit show of some kind. Or just a stompfest of a Demon Lord and of course, tentacles. Yes, tentacles! The enemy to all Japanese Schoolgirls! Beware Negi-Brigade! Beware! Except Eva, she’s no doubt excited. 
> 
> Nameless: The girls are just lucky Ranma is a girl slime and has a girlfriend. If she wasn’t… Well, let’s just say hentai territory was a very real possibility. And this was Ranma when she was annoyed. Imagine what she can manage if she was genuinely angry. Something that you have our assurance you’ll get to see. Eventually.
> 
> This was a short chapter this time folks, but this is the point where training, issues and team formation come in with Negi before the big arc. The arc that ends fics with the Negima crossover. I myself stopped my OG fic that started my fic writer saga at this stage! *Cracks Knuckles* *Cannot Crack Knuckles* Let’s do this.
> 
> Nameless: The pre-Mundus Magicus activities that the Negima gang get up to are things which Ranma has no part in and Negi and co. are mainly following canon, so we will mainly focus on Ranma. Sadly, most of what we foresee her doing is pretty bland so except for interesting events like this spar and her subsequent overreaction we will just gloss over them. That means, pretty short chapters till we hit the proper start of the events of Mundus Magicus. Bear with us.
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	33. Chisame Effect III - Unwitting Adonis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirty Three: Chisame Effect III - Unwitting Adonis**

**Beta:**

* * *

It was a warm and bright summer morning that Negi woke up to and as had become usual lately after finishing his morning ablutions, he proceeded to check the news on his laptop. It was a habit he’d picked up at Hasegawa-san’s advice. As he attempted to do that today however he ran into a problem. His laptop just wouldn’t start up properly.

He frowned at the inconvenience this caused him, not just about the lack of internet access but also because all his notes about his work on refining his trump card was also on the computer. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel oddly elated as he realized that he needed to take the machine to Hasegawa-san to see what was wrong.

“Negi-kun, are you done with checking the news?” Konoka-san asked with a smile as she finished serving the last few dishes for their breakfast onto their dorm room dining table. Unlike most meals, Negi and his roommates tended to have their first meal of the day in their room rather than head down to the cafeteria with usually Konoka-san or sometimes Asuna-san making use of their small kitchenette to prepare something simple for them every morning.

“Huh?” Negi said blinking as he sleepily processed the question. “Uh, no, my laptop isn’t working properly.”

“Then take it to get checked out later and join us for breakfast.” Asuna-san all but ordered as she tossed the towel she’d been using till now to dry her hair after her post-morning run bath into their laundry basket. 

“‘Kay!” Negi said cheerily as he put away his laptop into its travel bag before he hurriedly rushed over to their dining table.

“What are you so happy about, Squirt?” Asuna-san asked with her head cocked to the side and a raised brow. 

“My laptop seems to not be working.”

“You mentioned that already Aniki,” Chamo-kun said with a chuckle.

”I’m going to ask Hasegawa-san for some help.” Negi continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted and took his seat. 

Konoka-san let out a giggle hidden behind her dainty hand. Her brown eyes shimmered with a knowing look that confused him, and at his look, she giggled some more.

Asuna-san let out a suffering sigh, like when he was doing something she would claim as “moronic”. Though her mutter of “oblivious idiots” just made him even more confused.

Was it truly so bad to ask for tech support as it was called?

“Which one, Ane-san?” Chamo-kun chimed in from Asuna-san’s shoulder, smoking one of his chocolate cigarettes. 

“How about the both of them?” The twin tailed girl snorted before getting up and headed for the fridge to get something to drink.

Konoka-san’s giggles turned into a peel of laughter at that as she fell to the floor, giggling like a hatter. 

Negi felt his face heat up for some reason as he pouted. He had no clue what they were on about… He decided to retreat out the door, just in case. What social faux pas had he missed this time? 

* * *

Chisame working on her computer

It was mid morning and Chisame had already been up since five in the morning working away at her computer, uploading all the Chibi-Chiu pics from the festival. She would’ve used the helpful electronic spirits the artifact she’d got from the Pactio she’d forged with Negi-sensei had given her but... The mere memory of how she’d acquired them, of the kiss… It had left her all hot and bothered and confused and all round messed up! She’d had to spend an hour, a whole bloody _hour_ , in the toilet buttering her muffin when the memory had involuntarily come up when she’d first thought of using her artifact. 

Was she turning into some kind of deviant shotacon like Iincho now?!

The very thought left her feeling a little ill and had her spend another half hour in the toilet feeling sick at the possibility!

Damn that Sensei to hell! 

She better start using Incognito mode more frequently, just to be safe during her more _intimate_ searches. 

_Maybe I should invest in a better VPN (virtual private network) too._ Chisame thought to herself as she growled in frustration as she uploaded another Chiu-chan pic, this one including Negi-sensei posing with a chibified version of herself she’d achieved thanks to one of his magical Age-Deceiving Pills.

 _Note to self, stock up on those_ . _Chibi Chiu-chan was blowing up._ Chisame reminded herself absently as she desperately fought to ignore the throbbing in her nethers at how handsome Negi-sensei looked and how well the two of them looked together.

 _Filthy degenerates._ Chisame thought half-heartedly at the multitude of likes her latest upload was getting, a good number of which were cooing over how good she and Negi-sensei looked next to each other and how they shipped them. _At least they agree we look good together. Wait! What did I just think!?_

She fell back, rolling around on the ground as she pulled at her hair in frustration and elation! 

She was so troubled by her conflicting emotions that she didn’t hear her doorbell ringing. It was only when she had Negi-sensei calling out to her through the door that she regained her senses.

“Hasegawa-san! Are you in? I need your help with my computer!” The ador- No! He’s annoying! Annoying! - child teacher said, sounding just a tinge desperate.

It was that desperation - And no other reason thank you very much! - that had Chisame putting on her big girl pants to stand up and drag herself to the door. She didn’t speed walk, what are you smoking? 

Opening the door, she cocked a brow at her as usually smartly dressed Sensei and asked, “What do you need, Sensei?”

“My laptop is broken,” he said, lifting his laptop bag up and inadvertently hiding his rumpfled casual wear clad form which Chisame had been admiring. “Could you help see what’s wrong?”

“Come in,” Chisame said, sighing in genuine disappointment. Though the cause for such was a mystery to her. 

_Did I want him to visit for something else?_ Chisame thought to herself worriedly even as she played the reluctant host and guided her homeroom teacher into her tiny studio apartment of a dorm.

“You know I don’t play IT specialist for just anyone, right Sensei?” Chisame said chidingly as she took the laptop bag from the redhead and started setting the machine up on her coffee table to see what was the issue.

“I know,” Negi-sensei had the grace to say. “Which is why I appreciate that you’re doing it for me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chisame said distractedly, focusing on the malfunctioning laptop to avoid having to look at the boy teacher and his adorable good looks! “So what’s wrong with your machine?”

“It won’t start up properly.”

Chisame nodded as she tinkered with the laptop.

“So, um, what have you been doing since the summer holidays started, Hasegawa-san?” Negi-sensei said conversationally.

“Nothing much,” Chisame said, with a shrug. “Just uploading some of the Chiu-chan photos I shot during the Fest-”

She froze mid-sentence as she realized what she’d just said. She was never so free when things came to her being Chiu, what’s gotten over her?

“Ah! Your hobby. You must have a lot of fun with it. You were during the festival.” Negi-sensei said happily, not realizing at all how abnormal Chisame’s openness was.

For a moment, Chisame wanted to blow up at him. Over worming his way under her skin and for just being an annoying lamprey that doesn’t know when to leave her alone. However, as she opened her mouth to do just that, she found herself slamming it shut as she realized to her horror, that she _didn’t want_ to upset him.

 _Damn him! How did he do this to me?!_ Chisame thought as she both blushed and paled in quick succession, falling into a stunned silence.

“Uh, Hasegawa-san? You alright?” Negi-sensei asked worriedly when her silence dragged on a little too long.

Recovering her wits at his prompting, she decided to play it cool.

“Alright, Sensei, it just needed a forced reboot. It was stuck on the startup sequence.” She sighed with annoyance until she frowned and leaned her ear against the base. “What the-? Okay, you’ve also got a fan issue. Let me check if it's got dust inside or needs a replacement. This will take a bit.”

Getting up, she grabbed her maintenance kit and laid out a mat on the table. Putting on some gloves, she turned off the device and flipped it around before she started opening it up to work. 

“Wow, you are so proficient, Hasegawa-san!” Negi-sensei said with a look of awe in his eyes as he leaned closer, almost hovering by her shoulder and her nose twitched at the smell of his shampoo. 

It smelt like oranges. She absolutely did not lean back and inhale for a bit too long. You’re crazy! 

“Oh, what’s that part there, Hasegawa-san?” Sensei asked like the curious child he was. 

_At least he’s failed to notice how distracted I am by him just being here and asking me about why I am._ Chisame said, breathing a small sigh of relief. _I’m not ready to think, much less talk about that with_ anyone _! Much less him!_

“That’s the memory for the laptop, Sensei.” Chisame said with a happy little smirk that she smothered quickly and replaced with a blank faced look. She’d tried for a scowl but couldn’t manage it. “And it looks like you need to replace some parts. You’ll need a new fan at least, yours is cracked.”

“Oh,” Negi-sensei said, clearing not comprehending what Chisame was saying, not that she expected him to. He was her English teacher and a mage, not a computer technician.

“I’ll probably need to pop over to a computer store to get some replacement parts,” she said with uncharacteristic shyness and a blush that she couldn’t suppress despite her best efforts. “You want to, uh, join me?”

“Just the two of us?” He asked with a cute head tilt.

Chisame felt a critical hit to her heart and Sensei was to blame. 

“Y-Yes.” She gritted out, trying not to look like a spaz as she muscled a smile to her face. 

“I would-” He started to say, but a knock on the door interrupted him mid-sentence and Chisame felt some hot anger well up inside of her at that. 

“Hasegawa-san! Bring Negi-sensei to the door right now!” Ayase-san demanded loudly from outside. “I know he’s in there. Konoka-san told me he’d be stopping by to see you.”

Grunting in annoyance and shooting Negi a stink eye - Why did he have to be such a bloody stud and get her so much bloody competition! -, Chisame walked over and opened the door.

Looking at the huge forehead of the runt that dared interrupt her time with Negi-sensei, she spoke in the most dismissive tone she could manage. “We’re kind of busy fixing his laptop, we’re just about to head out to get it some parts. Isn’t that right, Sensei?”

“Uh, yes, that’s right Hasegawa-san.” Negi-sensei said dutifully as he stepped up behind her.

Before Ayase-san could reply, a new player entered onto the scene.

“Negi-sensei!” Miyazaki-san cried out happily as she rounded a corner. 

The three rivals

“Eh, Yue? You’re here too?” The fire mage asked as she spotted her shorter best friend.

“Yeah,” Ayase-san said, crossing her arms defiantly and glaring at the taller purplette. “I’m here to see Negi-sensei.”

“What a surprise, so am I.” Miyazaki-san said with a very fake smile even as what Chisame sincerely hoped was imaginary lightning flashed between the two Library Explorers’ eyes.

What was one to do in this situation? Oh! Make the other rivals - Annoyances! - work against one another and slip away with Sensei so he didn’t need to deal with this. 

_Rivals!? Since when did I see Ayase-san and Miyazaki-san as rivals? And for what!?_ Chisame thought even as she tried to push Sensei back into her dorm.

She was just about to slam her door in the face of the two purple haired girls when Ayase-san stopped her door with her foot and Miyazaki grabbed its edge with a hand.

“Not so fast, Hasegawa-san.” Ayase-san said with a glare, even as Miyazaki-san nodded. 

_Damn! Thwarted!_

“Yes?” She asked, innocently.

“Yes, Yue-san, Nodoka-san, what’s the matter?” Negi-sensei asked, utterly clueless to the fact that he was the cause of the tense atmosphere that had descended between the three girls.

“Glad you asked Sensei!” Ayase-san said with false cheer. “‘Cos I’d like to ask for your help with a mid-tier lightning spell, _Fulguratio Albicans_ (White Lightning), that I’ve been having trouble with.”

“Is that all?” Miyazaki-san scoffed with a disappointed shake of her head. “You could have asked Ranma-san. There was no need to hunt down Negi-Sensei, Yue. If you’re troubling Negi-sensei then you should have at least come with an actual combat question, like me.” 

”I actually don’t mi-”

“Shush, Sensei.” Chisame whispered into his ear as she covered his mouth with her hand. “Don’t give them more ammo than they already have!”

The boy had the survival instincts of a baby harp seal. Especially in front of two hunters!

“So what did _you_ come to ask him about then, Nodoka?” Ayase-san asked through gritted teeth.

Ignoring her best friend, Miyazaki-san turned to Negi-sensei with a pleasant smile.

“Negi-sensei,” she asked politely. “If you have the time, could you help me work on better mobility in a fight? I have some ideas I’d like to show you and get your opinion on.” 

The boy panicked, he had to have as he let out a yelp as he looked into the distance and suddenly pulled the two harlots into _her_ room and closed the door.

Chisame felt her domicile was greatly violated by this. 

“Didn’t any of you see that girl walking towards us just now!? What were you two thinking to keep talking about magic with a mundane around that could have heard you? Do you want us all to be caught and turned into ermines?” Negi-sensei ranted as he shot the two Library Explorers a chiding look.

“We’re sorry,” all three girls, Chisame included, said.

“Wait! Why did I apologize! More importantly, why is this conversation happening in _my_ room!?”

Completely ignoring her rant, Miyazkai-san turned to Yue-san with an uncharacteristic haughty look.

“I’m just trying to better myself.” She said with narrowed eyes. “Plus, it’s such a lovely day _outside_. Why not take a walk with Negi-sensei so we can chat about how to do that?”

“Dark Nodoka is here, huh?” Ayase-san said with a low whistle, looking a little nervous. “I won’t back down though. Bring it, Nodoka!”

“Hey! Don’t just ignore me and use _my room_ as the place for your little competition over who gets Negi-Sensei for the day,” Chisame said, as she gripped the side of her coffee table, barely managing to hold in a snarl.

“You’re one to talk Hasegawa-san,” Miyazaki-san said, shooting her a glare. “You were the first to attempt to monopolize Negi-sensei today after all.”

“Yeah, needing to take him to the computer store?” Ayase-san scoffed. “A likely story.”

“It’s the truth!” Chisame snarled, unable to hold back her anger any longer.

“Uh, can’t we all just calm down?” Negi-sensei said, looking on the verge of panic. “Why is everyone glaring at each other? It’s so ominous!”

Chisame couldn’t help it, she shot him an incredulous look. 

“How can you not know this is all about _you_!?”

“Huh, what do you me-”

“I’ll take it from here, guys!” Kagurazaka-san said as she climbed into Chisame’s room through an open window of all things!

“Why does no one respect my personal space anymore!” Chisame lamented with a growl. “And entering through the window!? Are you some spiderman cat burglar!?”

“Nope, just here to grab Negi.” The orangette said with a shrug. “I’m just here to take the brat so he can speak to the Dean about setting up our new club. Remember, Ala Alba?”

“Oh right! I forgot that was today!” Negi-sensei said, scratching the back of his neck apologetically. “Sorry Hasegawa-san, Yue-san, Nodoka-san, but it looks like I can’t join any of you today. Maybe after I’m done with Konoe-sama if I finish early?”

“Okay Sensei~!” All three of them chorused, even as Kagurazaka-san rolled her eyes at them.

Chisame didn’t care. Sensei had said that even though he had other commitments he’d tried to find time for her today! Squee!

 _Wait! Did I just squeal in joy at the prospect of spending time with Sensei! What the hell!?_ Chisame mentally recoiled. _I don’t like him! I don’t! I’m not Iincho!_

Despite her fervent denials however, she couldn’t help the pang of uneasiness that he didn’t call her by her given name. Or the sadness when Sensei left with Kagurazaka-san out the window.

* * *

“Man, talk about thirsty.” Asuna said with a sigh as she and Negi-kun left Hasegawa-san’s room through the window she’d originally entered.

It didn’t take long for the sounds of a scuffle to break out behind them, followed by Hasegawa-san shouting at Yue-san and Nodoka-san to leave. Sounds that included the occasional crackling electrical discharge and whoosh of a fireball.

“Uh, shouldn’t we go back? I think they’re broken out into a full on magical brawl.”

“No,” Asuna said with a shake of her head. “If you went back, it’ll only make things worse.”

“Huh? Why?” Negi asked, looking genuinely confused.

Asuna could only look at him in disbelief for a moment before shaking her head in exasperation at his naivety.

“You make me worry, you know that right?”

“Sorry, Asuna-san…” He said sheepishly, causing Asuna to just send him a puckered look before she let out an amused huff. 

Negi didn’t grumble too much as Asuna ruffled his hair with a kind smile on her face, her heterochromic eyes twinkling in a way that put him at ease for some reason. 

“Let’s go runt, we’ve got a club to start!”

“Right behind you, Asuna-san!”

* * *

**Omake: Dirty Needs of Dirty Deeds**

Chisame let out a sigh as she finally got the part needed to fix the overused and faulty fan on the laptop Negi-Sensei left with her. They didn’t get to go out and shop for the part, but it still felt nice to take in the computer store smell after the hell her room was put through by those damned library hussies. 

Booting up the laptop, after screwing the bottom back on, she waited to login.

Her brow furrowed.

“What the-? No password? Really, that damn brat.” She grumbled and casually logged in. 

It wasn’t her fault he didn’t use proper password protection. She might as well check his spyware, just in case.

She wasn’t going to check his browser history. Nope. Not at all. 

That was until she found multiple viruses on the computer. All from, from porno sites!

“H-How much did he download?!” She yelped in shock at the sheer volume of big boobed porn that was on the laptop. 

It was jarring, yet made her curious as she checked a few. Blondes, brunettes, but mostly redheads though not by much of a margin. The only commonality though was that it seemed like every one of the subjects of the video were well endowed women.

“Wait!” Chisame shouted as she tore her eyes away from the damning images. “Does this mean that Negi-sensei is a boobies man?”

With that thought in mind, she looked down at her own rather modest bust. She stared at them for a long moment before she sighed.

“I guess I’ll have to find some way to get bigger breasts,” she said with a sigh as she pulled out her Pactio card. “I wonder, is there a magical Bust Upper? Guess I’ll have to look.”

“Adeat!’ She said, summoning her artifact and her electronic spirits.

Chisame's Electronic Spirits

“Okay,” she said looking at the seven mouse-like spirits. “I want you to go trawl the net, both mundane and magical, to find if there are any ways I can make my breasts bigger. You got that!?”

“Yes mam~!” All seven spirits said with salutes before diving into the laptop screen and using it as a medium to delve into the internet.

In the meanwhile, she was going to pick up a lot of milk. That should help, right? 

Of course she was just going to delete these, just in case Sensei got terrible ideas. He shouldn’t mind too much right? It was just a small wipe.

* * *

As Chisame embarked on her quest for a bigger bosom, a certain Ermine Spirit sneezed mid-way through flipping through the latest porn mag he’d bought from the convenience store.

“I sense a new perfect rack is about to be born,” the perverted fae said as he smiled.

Truly, the prophecy would come to fruition!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Ah, this chapter was a pure chapter of bliss and culture. Tsunderes are just too fun to write, you know? Chisame though makes it feel like an artform that just needs to be showcased in this instance. 
> 
> Nameless: Before anything else, let me just say that tsundere, in denial Chisame is a joy to write. She’s absolutely hilarious! One minute she’s totally angling to get Negi’s attention and the next she’s trying to pretend she doesn’t want it. The whiplash is amusing as hell to write!
> 
> And now Chisame has a quest. A means to mod the physical form via magic. Maybe Eva would know? She was good with her GF, so it shouldn’t be too hard to ask, right? XP
> 
> Nameless: Sadly, she’s got it all wrong! It’s not Negi that’s the boobies man. Poor Chisame. XD
> 
> You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


	34. Amazonian Invitation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Negima! Magister Negi Magi or Ranma ½**

**Rise of Prodigies**

**Chapter Thirty Four: Amazonian Invitation**

**Beta:**

* * *

“Try this toy,” Eva-chan said in a sultry purr as she passed a cigar shaped object to Ranma.

“Hmm… You’re sure this will be good?” Ranma asked her girlfriend curiously as she leaned over to take the object.

It was just the two of them today. It wasn’t quite a date, but since it was just the two of them there was a much more intimate atmosphere than normal.

“It’s a tight fit.” Ranma noted as she inserted the object that Eva-chan had fished out of her toybox. “You’re sure this is okay?”

“Oh, it’ll be fine. Great even.” Eva-chan whispered breathlessly into Ranma’s ear. “Here, let me help you guide it in.”

“If you’re sure,” Ranma said with a blush as she let Eva-chan grab hold of her hand and guide her into pushing the object into its destination.

“See,” Eva-chan, the consummate temptress, said in a teasing whisper. “It fits perfectly.”

“I guess it did.” Ranma agreed with a nod as they finished installing the hidden weapon that Eva-chan had passed her earlier into the Doll she was working on.

The two of them were working inside the vampire’s workshop in her Resort to produce more Dolls as part of an effort to expand Ranma’s collection of familiars. Since she’d ascended - Eva-chan had insisted that it was an ascension not a descension - to being a Demon Lord, Eva-chan had convinced her that she needed an army hence they’d been making her a host of new Dolls.

As a result, they’d been spending a lot of their alone time together working on that. 

Some of Ranma’s new Dolls

 _Today in particular was a very productive day though,_ Ranma noted as she surveyed the good dozen Dolls she’d finished today even as she finished putting the final touches on the last Doll. _Still, this is kinda a strange date._

Not that they didn’t have more standard dates too. But Ranma had always tried to get the most out of everything as much as possible, spending time with her girlfriend whilst doing something productive was a win-win.

“You want to call it for the day?” Eva-chan asked, knowingly. “Satisfied with your progress today?”

“Yup,” Ranma said, offering her girlfriend a grin. “You read my mind.”

“Good,” Eva-chan said with a seductive smirk. “Want to do something a little more date-like now then?”

“Hmm… What do you have in mind, Eva-chan?” Ranma asked curiously.

“Well… Would you like dinner, a bath...” Eva-chan said provocatively as she erotically undid the ties that held up the apron she’d been wearing and tossed it aside, revealing the cute v-neck side slit knit top and houndstooth mini skirt outfit she was wearing. 

“Or me?” Eva-chan finished, pulling on the collar of her top suggestively.

“Eva~!” Ranma shouted scandalized, sinking a bit into her form to try and cover her glowing cheeks!

Sadly, that was totally the wrong thing to say as it just set Eva-chan off as she proceeded to jump Ranma. Pushing her off her chair, she grabbed Ranma and pulled her into a deep kiss even as she began pawing at the redhead’s clothes. 

It would be a long while until they left the workshop. 

And when they did, Ranma was just barely still a virgin.

* * *

Ranma let out a soft yawn, feeling something inside of her bubble oddly, as she went to the dorm mailroom to pick up the mail. 

Going through the routine, she unlocked the mailbox assigned to the dorm apartment she shared with Haruna and extracted their mail. And as usual even as she closed the mailbox door, she started flipping though the letters and turned to head back to her room. 

“Junk mail, junk mail, coupons, junk mail, bill, bill, and huh? A letter?” She muttered and saw it was addressed to her. Opening it she read the apparent invitation. 

From the Joketsuzoku village of all places. 

“From the Council of Elders, we hereby seek an audience with Ranma Saotome, Demon Lord, to make amends…” 

The opening line basically outlined the gist of the whole thing and wow those Amazons sure knew how to write a flowery letter. The letter was just chock-full of excessively poetic language. 

Slotting the letter back in its envelope, Ranma clicked her tongue, a popping noise going off in her mouth like she was chewing bubblegum. She was leery, ever so, of accepting some random invite from the crazy Amazons. 

Sure, they had done her a solid when she was younger, but the last one she had encountered had tried to kill her just for getting her ass kicked!

Seriously, nutjobs, the lot of them.

By the time she made it back to her room, Haruna was back from her training at Eva-chan’s cottage. 

“Onee-sama, you got the mail?” Her sister asked with a sweet smile. “Did my subscription come in-”

“No, but I think a few bills did that belong to you.” The redhead smirked and handed them over.

“Ah.” Haruna pouted, looking at them. “I’ve been training so much for this summer that I’ve been missing my commissions… I should get on those.” 

“If you want to pay your bills without dipping into your savings then you probably should.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Haruna said as she took her share of her letters from Ranma and put it distractedly on her desk. “Onee-sama, I’ve got something important to tell you.”

“What is it?” Ranma asked, looking at her sister curiously.

“Well, Negi-kun and the rest of us have decided to travel together later this holiday.” Haruna said as she pulled out and sat down on her study table chair. “We’re going to visit his hometown and then Mundus Magicus from there. We’ve even formed an officially registered school club, or well Asuna did, for us. Eva-sama even named us Ala Alba.”

“W-What?” Ranma asked, feeling like she’d taken a punch to the gut.

She hadn’t expected Haruna to not be around the whole summer. Ever since she’d been accepted into the family, Ranma had never been away from Haruna for more than a few hours at most. Now, they might be apart for weeks!? How could she survive that? All that time, Haruna had been her anchor. She had built her life around her sister in so many ways. What would she do if she wasn’t around?

“Yup,” Haruna said, ignoring Ranma’s reaction. “You can come with us! It’ll be fun, I’m sure.”

Ranma didn’t really hear her, she was still too shocked by Haruna’s announcement.

Ranma just stood and walked out of their dorm, her mind trying to wrap around this unexpected turn of events. Through it all, one thought repeated itself on a loop in her mind.

_I don’t want to be alone._

* * *

“What am I going to do?” Ranma muttered as she walked around the Mahora campus aimlessly. “Even if I could come up with things to do without Haruna around, how can I manage that for a _whole_ _holiday_? How can I spend a whole holiday _alone_!?”

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she did not notice the collateral damage she was causing by just walking around. Reacting to her confusion, her magic was running amuck, causing random objects around her to suddenly suffer accelerated entropy. Electronics failed, plants withered, brick and stonework eroded, animals dropped dead. She left a trail of random destruction behind her.

She felt like she was hyperventilating, but her skin was bubbling under her clothes instead. Each deep breath made more bubbles dance along her skin, looking ready to pop with deadly effect. Even her clothes started reflecting her confusion, her outfit shifting from one to another at random. One second she was dressed in her school uniform while the next she was dressed in a haute couture dress and the next she was in her gym clothes.

“We’ve always been together. What am I supposed to do alone?”

It had always been Haruna and her parents that had been the ones to tell her what to do with all the free time she had, but none of them were around this time. Without their guidance, all she’d end up doing would either be studying more magic or just, just floating about, aimless! 

Amid the destruction, slimes of all stripes crawled out from the humid and dark corners where they’d been hiding to evade the sun to follow her, forming a parade of slugs, snails and slime monsters that dutifully followed Ranma’s every step as they luxuriated in her magic.

“M-Maybe, I can go home to visit Okaasan and Otouchan?” Ranma thought out loud before quickly shaking her head. “No, doing that would just be cowardly.”

Some of her slimes crawled up Ranma’s body, but she didn’t notice, and tried to offer her what comfort they could.

“And I can’t just go to Mundus Magicus with Haruna either,” Ranma said, running her hands through her hair in frustration. “My new status as a Demon Lord would likely get me killed the moment I stepped foot there.”

“I think you exaggerate, Ranma-chan.” The soothing voice of the Dean said and Ranma looked towards the sound of his voice, seeing him standing a short distance away flanked by Takahata-sensei and Gandolfini-sensei.

Startled by their appearance, she looked at the teachers with a stunned look. “Oh, um, Dean-sama, Senseis. W-What’s going on?” 

Gandolfini-sensei looked like she had just stuck her finger up her nose and then without cleaning it first, asked him for a handshake. “Saotome-san, you’re wandering around the campus and causing some rather ill effects.” 

“Look behind you, Ranma-chan.” Takahata-sensei said, pointing in that direction.

Ranma did so and saw the army of slimes that she’d amassed and the trail of random destruction she’d created. 

“...Oh.” Ranma felt her throat go dry as she tried to rationalize how she could do that so easily while distracted. 

“Yes, ‘oh’!” Gandolfini-sensei said with a glare. “You’re a _Demon Lord_ Saotome-san! Did you think your loss of control wouldn’t have ill effects?”

“Gandolfini!” Takahata-sensei said, shooting the other man a look that silenced him before he turned to face Ranma. “Ranma-chan, we’re just worried about you.”

“And how much of that is only because of my new rank?” Ranma asked with a cynical laugh. “You are just worried that I’ve lost it and became a threat.”

Takahata-sensei winced.

“I won’t deny that was part of it,” the Dean said with a frown. “But that wasn't the main reason. For the most part, we came to see you out of genuine concern for your wellbeing.”

“I’m fine.” Ranma said with a sigh. “I’m just feeling a little lost now that it seems I’ve abruptly been left behind in Mahora alone over the holidays.”

“That’s not true,” the Dean said with a shake of his head. “You could go to Mundus Magicus with your sister and your friends. After all, like I said, your fears over your status being a cause for concern is exaggerated.”

“Maybe, but I do not want to take the risk. It’s my life on the line.”

“Fair enough,” Takahata-sensei agreed. “But surely you can do plenty of things without Haruna-chan. Aren’t you dating Eva-san? You could go out on dates with her. And aren’t you an enthusiast for obscure magical lore? Well, why not scour the Library Island for tomes that might help your research?”

Ranma shot him an unconvinced look.

“Might I make a suggestion?”

“Go ahead, Dean.” Ranma said with a nod towards Konoka-san’s grandfather. 

“Thank you, Ranma-chan.” The elderly man said with a smile. “Why not work on the question of your new nature then? I believe that you’ve not made much progress so far on the matter, correct?”

Ranma hesitantly nodded.

“You have given me a lot to think about,” Ranma said as she turned around to return to her dorm. Her subjects crawling out of her way and back into their hideouts at her wordless command.

“Please do,” the Dean said, calling after her.

Ranma just nodded.

 _If I do follow the Dean’s suggestion._ Ranma thought, mulling over the matter. _That would mean I will need to pay Jusenkyo a visit to use my new understanding of Origins to examine the source of my curse. Hmm… How fortuitous, that I’ve just got an invitation to visit the area._

* * *

Ranma felt a nervous energy in her as she headed for Eva-chan’s cottage. It was early morning and the warm wind of summer blew pass pleasantly as she knocked on the door. 

Chachamaru-san answered as per usual and greeted her.

“Hello Ranma-sama. Would you like to come in? Master is still at rest, but I can rouse her for you. Or would you rather do so yourself?”

“I’ll go wake her up.” Ranma flashed her a soft smile and the gynoid maid nodded, stepping back to let her in. 

Heading upstairs, she slowly opened the door to her girlfriend’s room and saw her snuggled deeply in her sheets and clutching a pillow. 

In her poofy PJs, she looked so angelic and Ranma wanted nothing more than to jump in and snuggle her to bits. Curse her Eva-chan for being too cute!

With utter silence, she glided over to the bed and spread her legs. And at her mental command, her body shuddered as tentacles rose out of her back. 

“Tickle Greeting!” Ranma shouted as her tentacles descended, curling around her girlfriend’s limbs and attacked her relentlessly, tickling every part of the vampire’s body within reach.

Eva-chan burst into laughter, rolling around on her bed as she desperately and futilely tried to escape the grasp of Ranma’s pseudopods.

“Ranma~! Stop! Hahaha~! Mercy! Hahahaha~! Stop already!”

“I have you at my mercy, my little Dark Evangel~ Kukuku~!” Ranma declared, feeling wicked as the tears in her blonde girlfriend’s eyes were precious to the point she wanted to bottle them. “Now, say please~!”

“Hahaha~! Please!”

Ranma released the blonde lolita, who collapsed on her bed, heaving and wheezing. 

“F-Fuck, I nearly peed myself, you bint!” Eva-chan whined, looking all red faced and cute. 

The Demon Lord just sat on the bed and kissed her Shishou on the cheek impishly. 

“Go get ready for the day, Eva-chan.” Ranma said as she pulled away, leaving the vampire blushing prettily. “I’ll need to talk to you over breakfast.”

“Okay,” Eva-chan said dreamily, still lost in the moment of the kiss.

Giggling at the effect she could have on her girlfriend, Ranma skipped out of the bedroom.

“See you soon, Eva-chan~!”

* * *

It took Eva-chan a few minutes to clean herself up and change into her day clothes, a surprisingly fancy lolita dress with plenty of petticoats, bows and frills, and come down from her bedroom to find Ranma sitting at her dining table with Chachamaru and her familiars enjoying some tea.

“If you kiss me every morning, I could totally enjoy waking up like that every day even with the tickle torture.” Eva-chan said as she walked over to Ranma and kissed her cheek. “Morning, Ranma.”

“Morning, Eva-chan.” Ranma said with a blush, as she gestured to an empty seat at the table where Chachamaru-san was serving the vampire’s breakfast. “Sit down and start eating.”

“Ah! A full English breakfast,” Eva-chan said with a happy sigh as she obeyed and took her seat. “Almost as good as your blood.”

“You want some?” Ranma asked, tilting her neck to offer her girlfriend a bite.

“If only you still had blood, I’d suck you for a meal.” Eva-chan teased as she got to work on her breakfast. “But as it is, I’m not risking your control over your slime yet. You might accidentally add a light property to it or some such.”

“I can do that?” Ranma asked, blinking in confusion.

“Mistress is a Demon Lord slime, so of course.” Ameko informed her with a grin. “You can change _any_ property of your slime. You just need to figure out how.”

“Huh, guess that’s another thing I’ll need to work on.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to do that over the summer.” Eva-chan reminded her as she demolished her scrambled eggs.

“About that,” Ranma said warily. “I won’t be around a good chunk of the summer. I’ll be taking a trip to China to study the Jusenkyo springs.”

“So you’re accepting the invitation that Kě Lún’s Amazons sent you?” Eva-chan asked, as she paused in her meal to look at Ranma with a pout. 

“Yeah.” Ranma said, fidgeting uneasily at the look her girlfriend was shooting her.

“You know I can’t join you, right?” The vampire said, her pout becoming even more heart wrenching.

“Betcha, Old Mistress, had a lot of ‘games’ planned for you two to play.” Zero-chan said, only for Eva-chan to grab the Doll and punt her through a wall.

“Games, huh?”

Eva-chan took a dignified sip of her tea, refusing to respond. 

“There there,” Ranma reached over the table with a tentacle to pet the blonde’s pretty head. “I’ll be sure to take lots of photos and get you tacky souvenirs!”

“That’s not the point, love.” The vampire dryly retorted, taking another sip of her tea. A classic stall tactic for her Shishou. 

Ranma simply smirked and tickled the blonde under the arm again. Making her laugh and spit out her tea. 

Before the immortal vampire could counterattack with a teacup to the face, the redhead teleported away. 

“What an uppity apprentice!” 

* * *

Ranma was just walking back to her dorm after having spent some time sparring with her familiars to get used to her new form and was just stepping into her dorm room after a quick shower - that she didn’t really need because of her new nature - when she froze.

“Eva-chan?” Ranma asked her girlfriend sitting across from her sister at their coffee table. “What are you doing here? And why are you wearing that? Isn’t that outfit mine?”

“Strategizing.” Eva-chan answered with a smug look, even as she stood up and did a playful spin to show off the ruffled gothic cardigan and suspender lolita skirt that she was wearing. “And yes, yes I am. I was bored so I put it on. Your panties too. Lacy red is a good choice.”

Eva and Ranma’s outfit

“You’re going to have to wash it before you return it, okay?” Ranma said with a roll of her eyes even as she played along and shifted her body to change her outfit to match Eva-chan.

Eva-chan flipped her hair, shooting her some bedroom eyes and smirked. “Do you want me to? Truly?”

“Yes.”

The blonde clicked her tongue, pouting as she looked away with crossed arms. 

Ranma chuckled at getting one over her girlfriend before she turned to look at her sister accusingly.

“Haruna, why did you let her?” 

“Well, she’s pretty much guaranteed to be my sister-in-law,” Haruna said with a shrug. “Or is she already? Onee-sama! Have you and Eva-sama already made a magical marriage bond yet?”

“No!” Ranma denied with a shout.

“Not yet.” Eva-chan said with a pout.

Ranma shot her girlfriend a shocked look. “Not yet?”

“Not yet,” Eva-chan repeated. “The only reason I have not asked you to make one with me is that you’re still getting used to being a Demon Lord.”

“But we’ve only been dating for a _week_!” Ranma said incredulously as she took a seat at the coffee table and looked at her girlfriend with shock.

“And we’re both not human.” Eva-chan shrugged as if she was stating the obvious. “We inhumans don’t have the same long courtship rituals humans do. Once we identify our chosen mate we _act_ , not dilly dally. And once both parties accept that they’re together, there’s no need to wait to formalize their pairing.”

Ranma pondered that. She _did_ feel a little strange that she and Eva-chan were not fully mated and rutting like rabbits already. Which was in itself strange as hell since like she’d said, they had only been dating for a _week_! 

“You didn’t push when I was human.” Ranma pointed out.

“‘Cos you were _human_ then, Ranma.” Eva-chan said with a roll of her eyes. “You aren’t any more. But I know you’re still thinking a lot like a human, so I’m not pushing too hard now either.”

“Uh…” Ranma said, too flabbergasted by the revelation to frame a reply.

“Though I would love to be a bridesmaid.” Haruna pouted as she looked at Ranma with hopeful eyes. “But I don’t think Kaachan and Otouchan would appreciate Onee-sama getting married when she’s still only fifteen.”

“Oh, I know.” Eva-chan said with a sigh. “Which is another reason I’m not pushing hard and I’m here strategizing with you how to win over my future in-laws.”

“So did you learn anything useful?” Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. “And why didn’t you ask _me_?”

“Loads. I just have to try not to be scary. Impossible, I know, but I can manage to pretend enough to not scare them too much.” Eva-chan said in that haughty way of hers which was just so cute. “And can you honestly say that you’d be honest? Your sister on the other hand has no filter.”

“Hey!” Haruna whined but both inhumans ignored her.

“I guess you’re right there,” Ranma agreed. “Haruna is terrible at keeping secrets. Honestly, it’s a minor miracle she’s not spent some time as an ermine by now.”

“Onee-sama~! I’m not that bad.”

“I think she has a doting Onee-sama to make sure she doesn’t say or do things too overt.” 

“That she does,” Ranma said with a giggle.

“You both suck! Anyway, Eva-sama, I do have a serious question though.” Haruna looked at the blonde immortal with utmost seriousness. “Do you have a tentacle fetish? I know Onee-sama can get all eldritch god on us, but this is super important for your relationship!” 

“...See? No filter. I can respect that.” Eva-chan said, gesturing at Haruna with a grin. “And no, I didn’t have a tentacle fetish.”

“Didn’t?” Haruna asked, her glasses glimmering. “So you do now?”

“Eva-chan, this is-”

“Oh, let’s just entertain her a bit.” Eva-chan said with a giggle. “She won’t shut up otherwise.”

“Fair enough.”

“So~ Haruna-san, like I said, I didn’t have a tentacle fetish. But I’ve come to appreciate tentacles lately. The way Ranma’s pseudopods play all over my body when we make out is just sublime! I can’t wait for her to _finally_ let go of her human mores and she agrees to stick them into me. I can just imagine how full it’ll make me feel. Oh, the stimulation will be out of this world! And that’s not even taking into account what Ranma might be able to do with the properties of her slime, surely they’ll add a whole new element to our sex lives!”

Okay, when did Haruna get her sketchpad? And why is she using it?

“Haruna! You aren’t making a doujin about me!” Ranma exclaimed as she fought to get her blush under control. Damn her girlfriend and being so good at wordplay and dirty talk!

“I’m not, but I refuse to let this material go unused, Onee-sama! My commissions need it!”

“Give me that!”

“Never!” Haruna snarled like a cornered beast. “Why do you even want it? You’re not even embarrassed by Eva-chan saying that! Heck, by your blush, you liked it!”

“That’s not the point!” Ranma said, growing a pair of pseudopods that snatched the sketchpad out of Haruna’s hands. “My sex life is _private_. Private! It’s not for you to use as inspiration for your doujins!”

Through it all Eva-chan was smirking, that damned agent of chaos! She did this on purpose! 

Let’s see how she likes a loss of cuddle time! That’ll change her tune!

* * *

“Haruna-chan, Ranma-chan!” Two very familiar voices shouted into the crowded dorm cafetaria one morning and the aforementioned Saotome sisters looked up from their breakfasts to see their source, excited looks on their faces.

“Otouchan! Kaachan!” “Okaasan! Otouchan!” Haruna and Ranma shouted respectively as they ran to the door to the cafeteria and threw themselves at their parents who readily pulled them into hugs.

“It’s great to see you two, girls.” Okaasan said with a grin after the whole family had finished exchanging hugs and greetings. “Have you finished your breakfasts?”

Ranma shot her sister a questioning look. As a slime now, she didn’t _really_ need to eat three meals a day and could totally miss the meal. Especially in exchange for spending time with her parents! Haruna though…

“I was mostly done,” Haruna confessed. “I can just grab an energy bar and I’ll be fine.”

“Ranma?” Otouchan asked, poking her arm slightly.

“Uh, I’m about halfway through breakfast?” Ranma confessed. She didn’t want to lie to her parents.

* * *

“Then why don’t you two go finish it up.” Okaasan urged, guiding them back to their seats. “We’ll sit with you.”

“Then we can go visit that girlfriend of yours, Ranma-chan.” Otouchan said, shooting her a stern look.

Ranma gulped but nodded. She knew better than to argue with her parents.

 _Eva-chan, please be on your best behavior okay?_ Ranma tried to tell her girlfriend telepathically as her whole family took their seats in the living room of Eva-chan’s cottage having been greeted at the door by Chachamaru-san.

 _Oh, I will._ Eva-chan reassured her. _Don’t worry so much. And congrats on mastering how to use telepathy._

Ranma blinked in surprise. She had hadn’t she? She’d been so nervous about her parents meeting Eva-chan that she’d just tried to reach out to the vampire nonverbally in a bid to remind her to not mess this up, and had just spontaneously managed to do so telepathically. 

_Huh? I guess I have._ Ranma sent back and received a burst of amusement back from her girlfriend.

_So, you have. Now shush. I can’t afford distractions if I want to impress my in-laws._

Ranma blushed and with a nod, she withdrew her mind from Eva-chan’s, cutting their telepathic connection.

Even with the reassurance, Ranma was still a little nervous. Sure, her girlfriend appeared to be confident she’d manage not to screw up and she wasn’t dressed in anything that was setting off alarm bells like some of her outfits would have. The vampire had chosen a relatively tame black, doll collar, long sleeved lolita dress. A very tame and cute choice whilst still fitting perfectly in with Eva-chan’s lolita style.

“So Evangeline-san, you’re both Ranma’s new girlfriend and the Dark Evangel?” Otouchan asked once everyone was comfortable.

“Yes, I am.” Eva-chan said with a nod. “Though, please call me Eva. My name is a little long and saying it in full all the time gets tiresome for both you and me.”

“That’s generous of you Eva-san.” Okaasan said with a pleased smile. “You’re honestly nothing like what I expected. I still remember the stories about you that my mother would tell me to try and get me to be a good little girl.“

“All true,” Eva-san said with a shrug. “Though some are probably exaggerated. I assure you, I only broke seventeen armies in the past, not twenty five.”

Okaasan actually laughed at that stupid joke. Otouchan just rolled his eyes though.

“So why should we trust our daughter to a clearly unrepentant monster?” He asked, once everyone had stopped laughing.

 _Argh! Otouchan! Must you be so bloody blunt!?_ Ranma fumed, sending her father a slight glare that he effortlessly ignored despite her eyes glowing inhumanly.

Credit where credit was due, Eva-chan didn’t even shift her expression at the question. 

“Well first, could she be in safer hands? I mean, yes I am a monster, but I only became one in a bid to live. Ranma is going to face those types of hardships now that she’s become a Demon Lord. Who best to help her than someone who's been in her shoes? I _wish_ I had someone to help me when I was young and confused.”

“About that-” Okaasan said, spinning to look at Ranma expectantly. “Ranma, why didn’t _you_ tell us about that. We had to hear it from the Dean.”

 _When did this become about me!_ Ranma thought as she squirmed from being put on the spot. Literally too, as her body pulsed and bubbled in response to her anxiety.

“Onee-sama just didn’t want you to worry, Otouchan, Kaasan.” Haruna spoke up loyally. “She knew you two would rush down immediately if you knew what happened. So she, um, decided to wait to tell you.”

“Till when exactly?” Otouchan asked, an eyebrow raised skeptically.

“When she was used to what she’d become at least.” Eva-chan chimed in. “She needed to accept what she’d become properly before sharing it. It’s common for people in her situation. It’s either that or freak out alongside you and that wouldn’t have helped anyone.”

“I did do some freaking out. Eva-chan helped me through it though.” Ranma said, taking her girlfriend’s hand into her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

Otouchan and Okaasan exchanged a look for a moment before Otouchan shrugged and Okaasan nodded.

“Eva-san, tell us more about yourself.” Okaasan said with a welcoming smile that had Ranma breathing a sigh of relief.

* * *

The rest of the meeting with Eva-chan had gone surprisingly well. Shishou was on her best behavior throughout and was even at times outright charming! At least Ranma thought so and if her parents disagreed, they didn’t say so. In fact they seemed to end up appearing like they quite liked Eva-chan and had not said anything in objection to Ranma’s relationship with her. They also didn’t give their approval but the redhead counted that as a win regardless.

The meeting had actually dragged on over lunch and even into the late afternoon, so by the time that they were done it was dinner time. So the Saotome family had headed out to a restaurant that the daughters recommended for their evening meal.

“So Ranma, Haruna, your father and I heard about your travel plans from the Dean.” Okaasan said as they ate. “Why did you two make them without even consulting us?”

“I’ve not confirmed anything yet.” Ranma said quickly. “I was going to check in with you two before finalizing anything. Besides, I kinda had a lot on my mind lately.”

“That’s true.” Otouchan allowed, causing Ranma to breathe a sigh of relief. “But what’s your excuse Haruna?”

“Uh, I forgot?”

Both of their parents sighed.

“You girls need to keep us better informed of your plans.” Okaasan scolded. “Next time, if you have plans, inform us _first_. We had some fun surprise plans made for the summer but we have to scrap them now.”

“Oh, um, sorry Kaasan, Otouchan.” “Wow it slipped my mind. I swore I got you to sign the permission slip!”

As per tradition, their parents looked none too pleased. 

“I think one of us should go with each of you.” Otouchan confessed. “I mean, Mundus Magicus can be dangerous. You are still kids after all.”

“And China is nuts, plain and simple. Plus I don’t trust these Amazons, dear.” Okaasan added, looking worried if those wrinkles on her forehead were anything to go by. 

“Well, Mundus Magicus is dangerous, like Otouchan said. I mean, I’m sure Negi-sensei is responsible, but chaperones couldn’t hurt?” Ranma suggested.

“Why us?” Haruna pouted at her. “We could ask Yuna-chan’s dad to come with too. You happen to be going on your own, right?”

“Is he?” Otouchan asked. “Is Akashi-sensei going with the group to Mundus Magicus, I mean.”

“No,” Ranma said with a shake of her head. “They’re basically leaving it to Negi-sensei alone to be their chaperone since he’s the faculty supervisor for the club they’re using as cover to justify the trip. That being the case, Otouchan, Okaasan, why don’t you both go with them? The more adults, the better, right?”

“Negi-sensei is their faculty supervisor, huh?” Otouchan repeated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I’m sure if the Dean allowed it then he’d have already taken into account the risks.”

“And Negi-sensei’s father is regarded very well in Mundus Magicus.” Okaasan added. “If it’s _him_ going along then I’m sure it’ll be fine. No one there would dare hurt the son of the Thousand Master or one of his charges.”

“Um, Negi-Sensei is still a little kid, just to let you know.” Ranma tossed the most powerful evidence that Haruna needed more people looking out for her.

She loved the kid, really, but he was still a kid no matter how strong he got. 

Experience just trumped super powered kids, ya know? 

“Oh? But isn’t he a fellow apprentice of yours?” Okaasan pointed out. “He’s been trained by Eva-san too, hasn’t he? Considering how powerful you’ve become under her tutelage, Ranma, I think it’s fair to say that he’s not too far behind, right?”

“He isn’t Demon Lord-class.” Ranma tried, even though she realized she was fighting a losing battle.

“No, but I’m sure he’s powerful enough to handle things.” Otouchan said firmly. “You, on the other hand, Ranma, are not going to be traipsing into unknown territory in China alone. Isn’t that right, Chinatsu?”

“Not if I can help it.” Okaasan confirmed. “We’re going with you, Ranma. Deal with it.”

_Drats._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
> 
> Now this was a fun, fun chapter! The start was so teasing that we just had to do it. All the sweet fluffy moments those two lolitas have are just so precious I could write pages of just daily interactions for the fun of it all. And soon, soon the magical world shall be upon us. It’s the last big arc boys and girls, let’s do this!
> 
> Nameless: Trust us, the Mundus Magicus super arc will be epic! That said, since it is super long, we’ve split it up into smaller sub-arcs to make writing and posting more manageable so don’t expect the whole thing to come out all at once. We’ll be spacing it out.
> 
> Oh, just in case some of you were wondering how Ranma’s destructive walk through campus escaped the notice of the mundane and couldn’t infer the reason from the story itself, keep in mind she was stopped by the Dean i.e. the leader of the Kanto Magic Association and two of its members. So the Association simply covered things up for her.
> 
> E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!


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